Could Petter Solberg be the next WRC star to tackle the Dakar Rally? It’s been something that’s on his mind for a while now.

Solberg was in the bivouac in Al-Dawadmi on Saturday, where he caught up with Nasser Al-Attiyah and the Dacia Sandriders crew. Many of the latter, coming from Prodrive, previously worked with Solberg on the Subaru World Rally Team from 2000 to 2008. Solberg won his only WRC title with the team in 2003.

“I’m trying to absorb as much information as possible about the Dakar, and learn everything about this race,” he told AUTOhebdo. Solberg then described it as “a great challenge to compete in the Dakar. We’ll see.”

He had retired from full-time racing in 2018, following a five-year stint in FIA World Rallycross wherein he won the 2014 and 2015 titles, but continued to compete in one-off events like the Race of Champions and Goodwood Festival of Speed. In September, he finished 24th in his Defender Rally Series debut at the Clare Forestry Rally.

Solberg had been open about racing the Dakar before. In 2023, he told NRK Nyheter of his plans to run the 2024 race and had been training for it, though an entry did not materialize in the end.

This time, however, he might have time in his schedule to do so. He feels his son Oliver Solberg, whose career he had been overseeing, is now able to forge his own path such as joining Toyota for the 2025 WRC2.

“At my age, I can focus more on myself and my desires,” he explained.

It is not uncommon for rally drivers to try out rally raid. His former WRC rival and Al-Attiyah’s teammate Sébastien Loeb is one of the more notable examples today, while WRC2 privateer Jourdan Serderidis plans to race a Ford Raptor in 2026.

Featured image credit: @World / Red Bull Content Pool