# Henning Solberg

Henning Solberg (born 8 January 1973) is a Norwegian rally and rallycross driver. Together with his female co-driver Ilka Minor, he currently competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) with cars of M-Sport.
Solberg is the older brother of the 2003 FIA World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and through his Swedish spouse Maud the stepfather of Swedish rally driver Pontus Tidemand.

## Career

Henning Solberg was born in Askim, but grew up in Spydeberg. Like his younger brother Petter, Henning started his career as a driver in bilcross (Norwegian low-budget rallycross similar to Swedish folkrace and Finnish jokamiehenluokka) and rallycross events, and switched completely to rallying in the mid-1990s. Between 1999 and 2003, he became the Norwegian Rally Champion for five years in a row.
After several events as a privateer in the WRC, Solberg got a contract with Bozian Racing for the 2004 season. At his first event with the Peugeot 206 WRC, the 2004 Swedish Rally, Solberg took his first WRC points by driving to sixth place. This remained his best result and only points-finish of the season.
For the 2005 season, Solberg was signed by the BP Ford World Rally Team, Ford's factory WRC team. He competed in seven rounds alongside Ford's main drivers Toni Gardemeister and Roman Kresta. His best result came at the Cyprus Rally, where he beat team-mates Gardemeister and Kresta to the fourth place. With nine points, Solberg finished 14th in the drivers' world championship.

### OMV Peugeot Norway WRT (2006)

In 2006, Solberg partnered Manfred Stohl at the OMV Peugeot Norway W.R.T., and drove the Peugeot 307 WRC in 12 of the 16 WRC rounds plus the non-WRC event Rally Norway. He achieved his first ever podium finish coming in third in the Rally of Turkey. With six other points-scoring positions to his name, he finished eighth in the drivers' standings. Solberg also appeared in an edition of the BBC show Top Gear, where he rallied a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in a downhill snow track in a race against the Norwegian bobsleigh team at Lillehammer. The Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track is 1365 meters long with 16 turns and an 8.5% average grade and Solberg's route was equally challenging. With Top Gear presenter James May as his "co-driver," Solberg made it 1:02:24 in the Evo while the bobsled (with presenter Richard Hammond in it) beat Solberg with a time of 59:68.

### Stobart Ford (2007–2011)

For 2007, Solberg was given a full-time drive with the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team. He achieved his second podium finish in the World Rally Championship by driving his Ford Focus RS WRC 06 to third place at his home event, the 2007 Rally Norway, when the rally was part of the WRC calendar for the first time. He later took his career third podium finish at the 2007 Rally Japan, and finished sixth in the drivers' championship, ahead of Subaru's Chris Atkinson and his young team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.
Solberg retained his place at the Stobart team for the 2008 season. In Sweden he was on course for a podium finish before a puncture and a crash on the second day put him out of the points. For México Solberg was nominated to score points for the Munchi's team. He achieved a fifth-place finish despite suffering two punctures. In the series' first-ever Jordan Rally, he recorded his best result of the season by finishing fourth. After five more points-scoring finishes were followed by five rallies with no points, Solberg finished eighth overall in the drivers' standings. At the 2008 Mountain Rally Norway, the first round in the 2008 Norwegian Rally Championship, Henning took first in his class driving a Ford Fiesta ST N3.
In 2009, Solberg had his career-best start to the season. He drove his Focus RS WRC 08 to fourth place both in the season-opening Rally Ireland and the following Rally Norway. After a road accident ended his chances in Cyprus, he finished fifth in Portugal and took his career fourth podium place in Argentina, behind the Citroën duo Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo. He achieved another podium in Poland.
In 2010 Solberg was driving Ford Focus RS WRC 08 at first 6 events but at 2010 Rally Bulgaria he drove a Ford Fiesta S2000. At 2010 Rally Finland, 2010 Rallye Deutschland and 2010 Rally Japan he drove Ford Focus RS WRC 08 again. At last two rallies he drove Ford Fiesta S2000. His co-driver is Ilka Minor, but during her injury was his co-driver Stéphane Prévot. Every time Solberg participated in WRC with a S2000 car he scored points and beat a few WRC drivers.

### Go Fast Energy World Rally Team (2012)

Henning Solberg competed for the privateer Go Fast Energy World Rally Team along with Matthew Wilson in the first half of the 2012 season. In Monte Carlo, due to various issues, he finished outside the top ten. Henning could retaliate on the next round in Sweden, finishing in 7th place. After that, the whole Go Fast team disappeared as a whole.

### 2013-present

Solberg made his return to the WRC on the 2013 World Rally Championship's second round, Rally Sweden, after a one-year hiatus. His co-driver was Emil Axelsson, and used M-Sport's Fiesta RS WRC. The car sported a full white design without any sponsors, although they later put up "Can you watch this space?" stickers to cover the space on the sides and the hood. The pairing finished 8th, after a 4m20s time penalty. Solberg stated in a stage-end interview that he's working to find funds for a programme, but nothing is certain yet.

## Racing record
### Complete WRC results

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
| 1998 | Shell Norge | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | MON | SWE 12 | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | ITA | AUS | GBR | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1999 | Henning Solberg | Ford Escort WRC | MON | SWE | KEN | POR | ESP | FRA | ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN | CHN | ITA | AUS | GBR Ret | | | NC | 0 |
| 2000 | Henning Solberg | Ford Escort WRC | MON | SWE Ret | KEN | POR Ret | ESP | ARG | GRE | NZL | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2000 | Henning Solberg | Toyota Corolla WRC | | | | | | | | | FIN Ret | CYP | FRA | ITA | AUS | GBR 14 | | | NC | 0 |
| 2001 | Henning Solberg | Toyota Corolla WRC | MON | SWE Ret | POR Ret | ESP | ARG | CYP | GRE | KEN | FIN Ret | NZL | ITA | FRA | AUS | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2001 | Henning Solberg | Subaru Impreza WRC | | | | | | | | | | | | | | GBR 13 | | | NC | 0 |
| 2002 | Henning Solberg | Toyota Corolla WRC | MON | SWE 13 | FRA | ESP | CYP | ARG | GRE | KEN | FIN Ret | GER | ITA | NZL | AUS | GBR | | | NC | 0 |
| 2003 | Henning Solberg | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI | MON | SWE Ret | TUR | NZL | ARG | GRE | CYP | GER | FIN Ret | AUS | ITA | FRA | ESP | GBR | | | NC | 0 |
| 2004 | Bozian Racing | Peugeot 206 WRC | MON | SWE 6 | MEX | NZL Ret | CYP Ret | GRE | TUR Ret | ARG | FIN 10 | GER | JPN | GBR 11 | ITA Ret | FRA | ESP | AUS | 19th | 3 |
| 2005 | BP Ford | Ford Focus RS WRC 04 | MON | SWE 5 | MEX | NZL | ITA 15 | CYP 4 | TUR 11 | GRE Ret | ARG | FIN 9 | GER | GBR 10 | JPN | FRA | ESP | AUS | 14th | 9 |
| 2006 | OMV Peugeot Norway | Peugeot 307 WRC | MON Ret | SWE 8 | MEX 5 | ESP | FRA | ARG 7 | ITA Ret | GRE 5 | GER | FIN 4 | JPN | CYP 6 | TUR 3 | AUS Ret | NZL 12 | GBR 11 | 8th | 25 |
| 2007 | Stobart M-Sport | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | MON 14 | SWE 4 | NOR 3 | MEX 9 | POR 11 | ARG 5 | ITA 4 | GRE 5 | FIN 5 | GER 13 | NZL 9 | ESP 10 | FRA 9 | JPN 3 | IRE 16 | GBR 15 | 6th | 34 |
| 2008 | Stobart M-Sport | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | MON 9 | SWE 13 | | ARG Ret | JOR 4 | | GRE 8 | TUR 5 | FIN 5 | GER 7 | | | FRA 15 | | GBR Ret | | 8th | 22 |
| 2008 | Munchi's | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | | | MEX 5 | | | ITA 7 | | | | | NZL 9 | ESP 11 | | JPN Ret | | | 8th | 22 |
| 2009 | Stobart M-Sport | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | IRE 4 | NOR 4 | CYP 18 | POR 5 | ARG 3 | ITA 8 | GRE 14 | POL 3 | FIN 30 | AUS 7 | ESP 9 | GBR 5 | | | | | 6th | 33 |
| 2010 | Stobart M-Sport | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | SWE 6 | MEX 6 | JOR 9 | TUR 25 | NZL 7 | POR Ret | | FIN Ret | GER 37 | JPN 7 | | | GBR 6 | | | | 8th | 45 |
| 2010 | Stobart M-Sport | Ford Fiesta S2000 | | | | | | | BUL 10 | | | | FRA 9 | ESP 8 | | | | | 8th | 45 |
| 2011 | Stobart M-Sport | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | SWE Ret | MEX 6 | POR 9 | JOR 14 | ITA Ret | ARG DNS | GRE 5 | FIN 7 | GER 7 | AUS 14 | FRA 6 | ESP 8 | GBR 3 | | | | 9th | 59 |
| 2012 | Go Fast Energy | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | MON 13 | SWE 7 | MEX WD | POR WD | ARG | GRE WD | NZL WD | FIN WD | GER | GBR | FRA | ITA | ESP | | | | 20th | 6 |
| 2013 | Henning Solberg | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | MON | SWE 8 | MEX | POR | ARG | GRE | ITA | FIN | GER | AUS | FRA | ESP | GBR | | | | 22nd | 4 |
| 2014 | Henning Solberg | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | MON | SWE 7 | MEX | POR 5 | ARG | | POL 9 | FIN 9 | GER | AUS | FRA | ESP | GBR Ret | | | | 11th | 26 |
| 2014 | Adapta Motorsport | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | | | | | | ITA 7 | | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 26 |
| 2015 | Henning Solberg | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | MON 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2015 | Adapta Motorsport | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | | SWE 12 | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA | POL | FIN | GER | AUS | FRA | ESP | GBR | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2016 | Henning Solberg | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | MON | SWE 7 | MEX | ARG 9 | POR 27 | ITA 7 | POL 15 | | GER | CHN C | FRA | ESP | GBR WD | AUS | | | 12th | 14 |
| 2016 | M-Sport | Ford Fiesta R5 | | | | | | | | FIN 12 | | | | | | | | | 12th | 14 |
| 2017 | Henning Solberg | Škoda Fabia R5 | MON | SWE 31 | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | POL | FIN | GER | ESP | GBR | AUS | | | | NC | 0 |
| 2018 | Henning Solberg | Ford Fiesta WRC | MON | SWE 19 | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | | | | | | | | 17th | 8 |
| 2018 | Henning Solberg | Škoda Fabia R5 | | | | | | | | | | TUR 6 | GBR | | | | | | 17th | 8 |
| 2018 | Toksport World Rally Team | Škoda Fabia R5 | | | | | | | | | | | | ESP 17 | AUS | | | | 17th | 8 |
| 2019 | Toksport World Rally Team | Škoda Fabia R5 | MON | SWE 17 | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR 11 | ITA | FIN 15 | GER | TUR 15 | GBR WD | ESP | AUS C | | | NC | 0 |

### WRC-2 results

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points |
| 2016 | M-Sport | Ford Fiesta R5 | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | POR | ITA | POL | FIN 4 | GER | CHN C | FRA | ESP | GBR | AUS | 28th | 12 |
| 2018 | Toksport World Rally Team | Škoda Fabia R5 | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR | ESP 6 | AUS | | 35th | 8 |
| 2019 | Toksport World Rally Team | Škoda Fabia R5 | MON | SWE 7 | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR 3 | ITA | FIN 5 | GER | TUR 4 | GBR WD | ESP | AUS C | 9th | 43 |

### Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results
#### Division 1$^*$

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ERX | Points |
| 1994 | Henning Solberg | Nissan Sunny GTI-R | AUT | POR | FRA | IRE | GBR | SWE | FIN | BEL | NED | NOR 10 | GER | | 28th | 7 |
| 1995 | Henning Solberg | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | AUT 2 | POR NC | FRA NC | SWE 8 | GBR 12 | IRE 6 | BEL (NC) | NED | NOR 13 | FIN 11 | CZE | GER | 12th | 52 |
$^*$ Division 1 was rebranded as Division 2 in 1997.

#### Division 1

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ERX | Points |
| 2009 | Ford Team RS Sweden | Ford Fiesta | GBR | POR | FRA | HUN | AUT | SWE 4 | BEL | GER | POL | CZE 5 | 15th | 30 |
| 2010 | Henning Solberg | Ford Fiesta | POR | FRA | GBR | HUN | SWE 15 | FIN | BEL | GER | POL | CZE | 36th | 2 |

#### Supercar

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ERX | Points |
| 2011 | Henning Solberg Motorsport | Citroën C4 | GBR | POR | FRA | NOR 7 | SWE | BEL | NED | AUT | POL | CZE | 22nd | 10 |
| 2013 | Henning Solberg Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | GBR 15 | POR | HUN | FIN | NOR 18 | SWE 4 | FRA 12 | AUT | GER | | 15th | 28 |
| 2014 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | GBR 5 | NOR 4 | BEL 7 | | | | | | | | 2nd | 56 |
| 2014 | LD Motorsports | Citroën DS3 | | | | GER 10 | ITA 3 | | | | | | 2nd | 56 |
| 2017 | Eklund Motorsport | Volkswagen Beetle | BAR 6 | NOR 12 | SWE 14 | FRA | LAT | | | | | | 14th | 23 |

### Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results
#### Supercar

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | WRX | Points |
| 2014 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | POR | GBR 9 | NOR 5 | FIN | SWE 13 | BEL 15 | | | | | | | | 10th | 70 |
| 2014 | Monster Energy World RX | Citroën DS3 | | | | | | | CAN 11 | FRA 24 | GER 15 | ITA 9 | TUR 5 | ARG 15 | | 10th | 70 |
| 2015 | CircleX | Ford Focus | POR | HOC | BEL | GBR | GER | SWE 33 | CAN | | | | | | | 25th | 12 |
| 2015 | Olsbergs MSE | Ford Fiesta ST | | | | | | | | NOR 13 | FRA | | | | | 25th | 12 |
| 2015 | Eklund Motorsport | Volkswagen Beetle | | | | | | | | | | BAR 14 | TUR | ITA 15 | ARG | 25th | 12 |