Petter Solberg will return to the FIA World Rally Championship round he dominated for four years when he tackles Wales Rally GB (3 - 6 October).

He will be joined on the entry list by teenage sensation son Oliver, who will make his WRC debut on the event. Both will drive Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 cars.

Solberg Sr, who debuted the Polo R5 in Spain last October, is competing in Britain as part of his Farewell Tour, having confirmed his decision to end his professional driving career earlier this season.

Rally GB has always been a special event in the Solberg household. Petter secured his first WRC win in Wales in 2002, won the world championship there in 2003 and wasn’t beaten on those roads until 2005.

“When I was putting together my Farewell Tour, I could find a reason to compete on all the WRC rounds,” Solberg told wrc.com. “I love this championship so much. But I had to take just one rally and Wales has been like a second home event for me.

“My co-driver Phil Mills is from here and the people, the fans, I completely love to be with them. They seem to understand me and my passion for this sport. That’s why it had to be Wales, so many special things happened there. And to take Oliver with me is going to be so special. The emotions will be unbelievable.”

Solberg Sr is keen to offer his son a guiding hand through his WRC debut. “I remember the first time I drove in the WRC,” said Petter. “Everything is bigger and more complicated than anything you have done before.”

Petter Solberg won the WRC title at Wales Rally GB in 2003

Despite having only started eight rallies in a four-wheel drive car, Solberg Jr (below) has won four of those, including Latvia’s ERC round, a result which made Solberg the youngest ever winner of a European Championship round.

His latest Polo outing netted an impressive seventh overall behind six World Rally Cars at Shell Helix Rally Estonia. He won the R5 class by a minute and a half.

“I can’t wait,” Solberg Jr told wrc.com. “Having papa there is so cool for me. I’ve listened to his stories about Sweet Lamb, Dyfi and these places for so many years. He’s my hero, so to drive alongside him is like a dream for me.

“But I understand Wales is the very, very big one. It’s so much bigger than anything I have done and I’m going there to learn and to listen to what my Dad and co-driver Aaron (Johnston) are telling me.

“Everybody knows more about this rally than I do, but I can’t wait to start to learn about the way the grip changes with the weather and all the stuff I’ve heard about for so long.”

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