Rally Driver Gets Huge Penalty for Illegal Drift

We usually leave rally coverage to our sister sites, Motorsport and Autosport, but this story was too intriguing to pass up. What started as a five-second drift ended in a five-minute penalty for Oliver Solberg. While returning to parc fermé at the 2025 Monte Carlo Rally, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver pleased the crowds with a tail-happy slide. Unfortunately, the stewards didn't share the crowd's enthusiasm.

The sideway shenanigans occurred in the famous hairpin while the 23-year-old Swede was heading back to the garage. Stewards accused him of "exhibition driving" on one of the rally's road sections during the finale of WRC's inaugural race. Motorsport notes Solberg has already apologized for his behavior, but he believes he didn't put any bystanders in danger.

 

Footage shared on social media shows the GR Yaris Rally2 braking behind a BMW X3 luxury crossover that was minding its own business. Another video captures the drift from another angle, with Toyota's pocket rocket in front of a mundane Dacia Sandero Stepway. But as the video shows, Solberg wasn't the only one to put a smile on bystanders' faces. There's also a Citroën C3 Rally2 car attempting to drift, albeit with less success.

“The Stewards examined the case in detail and concluded that a potential unsafe situation was created as a turn was approached in a 'drifting' mode by the driver of car No. 20 and many people were standing up at that turn. Art. 12.18 of the Supplementary Regulations of 93e Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo stipulates that exhibition driving is strictly forbidden everywhere due to lack of suitable places. The Stewards, therefore, decided that the driver of car No. 20 did not respect the relevant regulations and applied the above-mentioned time penalty.”

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Although harsh, Solberg’s fine-minute penalty doesn't really matter because he chose not to compete for WRC2 points. The 2024 WRC2 title runner-up finished the rally event sixth in the Rally2 class and 13^th overall. The Monaco Rally was his first competitive outing in the GR Yaris Rally2 after switching from a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2.

It's actually not Solberg's first offense of this type. At the 2023 Rally Portugal, he lost the WRC2 lead after receiving a one-minute penalty for exhibition driving at the end of Saturday's super special stage. His showboating donuts at the end of Rally Portugal cost him the victory.

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