Johnston and Solberg prove to be ‘class’ acts

AARON Johnston was delighted to seal his maiden World Rally Championship victory when he and Oliver Solberg topped the WRC3 charts at Rally Estonia.

The young pairing were in a class of their own over the weekend behind the wheel of their Volkswagen Polo, finishing ahead of all other R5 cars, including those in WRC2 as they finished ninth overall to not only win their section but also collect overall WRC points in the process.

“It went very, very well,” beamed Fintona co-driver Johnston.“The only things that beat us were World cars!

“It was fantastic to get a win at this level and it was nice to do it on the first event back after lockdown because we didn’t get the best start in Monaco, Sweden and Mexico, so to come back and kick start the year and get out championship back on track is very special.

“It’s nice to score some overall world championship points as well so that’s another thing ticked off the list!”

Johnston and Solberg went into Estonia full of confidence after overall victory last time out at Rally Liepaja in Latvia, which was part of the European Rally Championship, where they defeated Norwegian ace Mads Ostberg.

They again kept the experienced Scandinavian driver at bay in difficult conditions created by rain and being 25th on the road. 

Despite those issues, Johnston and Solberg drove their own race to perfection to cruise home with plenty to spare.

FULL STORY IN LAST THURSDAY’S ULSTER HERALD