A top driver, a great friend, a family man, and an inspiration to millions all over the world ๐ today is a very sad day, and all our thoughts are with Ken's amazing family โค๏ธ
First run of my new Escort! ๐จ๐คฉ Weโve spent 1 year building this to be a proper WRC Historic - proper rally car this is! ๐คฉ Make sure your sound is on... ๐
Happy 55th birthday to the late, great Colin McRae! โค๏ธHe was a true friend, and had such a huge influence on my life and my career (and driving style as you can see!) ๐
I truly miss Colin, but his legend and his spirit lives on - not least through his amazing family! ๐
What a crazy, crazy weekend! ๐๐คฉ I came here to end my
#FarewellTour
to have fun, but to win is just amazing, unbelievable! So many emotions right now... ๐๐ผ I hope the video explains how happy, proud and grateful I am for everything in my career and my life โค๏ธ
It's the end of one era for me, but the start of a new one! I'm so proud and honoured to have this career in motorsport, but it's time for a change in life ๐๐ผ but don't worry - I'll be driving at some events and shows for a long time still, it's impossible to stop completely! ๐
My friend Colin McRae would have celebrated his 50th birthday today - he had such a huge influence on my life and my career and was someone I was honoured to call a friend! I truly miss Colin, and I'll be pushing 110% today, just as he always did, to make him proud! ๐ช๐ผ
20 years ago today, me and my good friend Phil Mills became the 2003 World Rally Champions! ๐
None of it would have been possible without the fantastic support of our families, engineers, mechanics, chefs and every individual behind the scenes!
Today we remember a true friend, fierce competitor and rally legend - The great Richard Burns.
A genuine man, with complete passion for the sport that he loved and to this date, one of the best teammates I have had!
The motorsport world will forever remember you, my friend! โค๏ธ
19 years ago today me and Phil became the 2003
@OfficialWRC
Champions... hard to believe it was that long ago! ๐ It was and still is the most amazing feeling - not just at the stage end, but also celebrating back home with so many friends, family and fans! ๐
Every mistake is an opportunity to learn, and every disappointment is an opportunity to grow ๐ช for sure this rally didnโt go
@OliverSolberg01
โs way, but now itโs important to move forward, learn from it and keep positive, and look forward to the next one โค๏ธ
Really sad to hear the news about Hannu Mikkola - he was a legend, a proper gentleman, a real Champion, and a great father to great kids. Sending all my condolences to his family and friends. RIP.
17 years ago today... hard to believe it was that long ago! ๐ Becoming 2003
@OfficialWRC
Champions was the ultimate dream come true for me and Phil - literally the happiest day of my life after Oliver being born! ๐คฉ
Congratulations my friend for your fantastic
@F1
career and for inspiring a generation, a legend on and off the track ๐
I know what itโs like to retire to spend more time with family โค๏ธ and Iโm sure you have many more adventures and success to come in life!
#ThankYouSeb
This is a funny story back from Rally Finnskog 1998 - and one of my favourite photos from my career! ๐คฉ During the rally I broke the power steering, and had the crazy idea to mount a tank of power steering fluid to the roof...๐
This photo might be my favourite, the coolest and most emotional photo from my career so far ๐คฉ๐ with my son
@OliverSolberg01
in a pair of legendary blue and yellow Subarus driving together up the
@fosgoodwood
hillclimb... it doesn't get better than this!
Today a very special Christmas present from my friend arrived! ๐ This is the actual car I had when I was just 18 years old - a Fiat 126 with a โmonstrousโ 24hp! ๐ฅ๐คฉ Great memories, great gift!
The rumours were true... ๐
I am so excited to tell you all that I'll be competing at Rally Spain in the brand new VW Polo GTI R5 with
@volkswagenms
! Everyone knows how much I love rallying, and I can't wait to be back! ๐๐ช๐ธ
๐ I've got a Christmas treat for you! For your chance to win this top quality RC Subaru Impreza thanks to
@TamiyaUK
, just answer this question: how many stages did I win at Rally Mexico 2004? Let me know in the comments below! โฌ๏ธ
There was a lot of love for me at
@WalesRallyGB
, and I can't tell you how much it means โค๏ธ but there's someone else who deserves just as much - the one and only, my friend, Phil Mills! So special to share this last memory together! ๐คฉ
Congratulations to my old Ford teammate, rival and
@OfficialWRC
legend
@CSainz_oficial
for winning the
@Dakar
Rally for the 3rd time - and at 57 years old! ๐ช Bravo King Carlos! ๐
The years just keep on ticking by - can't believe it was 18 years ago today that we became 2003
@OfficialWRC
Champions ๐ the ultimate dream come true for me and Phil! ๐คฉ (1/2)
Here she is ๐ the livery of the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 I'll be using at
@RallyRACC
later this month! What do you think? Can't wait to get behind the wheel!
@volkswagenms
Rarely am I speechless or shedding a tear, but this weekend has been unbelievable ๐คฉ so proud of
@OliverSolberg01
for his attitude and amazing performance on his WRC car debut - such a performance shouldnโt be possible, itโs incredible ๐คฏ
Japan is filled with some fantastic memories ๐คฉ Rally Japan takes part this week and the fans are showing just as much love for the sport from when I competed here.
The passion and excitement amongst the fans in Japan is like nothing else! ๐ช
Huge congratulations to
@OttTanak
and Martin Jarveoja ๐๐ welcome to the rare "WRC Champions not called Seb" club! ๐
Really happy for my friend Tommi Makinen, and all the Japanese and Estonian fans too! ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ช
Thinking of the late, great Colin McRae today, on what would have been his 56th birthday โค๏ธ An inspiration to everyone who met him or saw him drive, I feel very lucky to have been able to call him a true friend ๐๐ผ
From what looked to be a disaster at the start, to the high's of the win. Me and Phil gave it absolutely everything - making the emotions so much higher at the finish! ๐คฉ๐ช
Do you remember this rally? ๐
Today we remember Colin, 16 years on from his tragic passing ๐ I say the same thing every year, but he was an icon, an inspiration and most importantly a very good friend. We always remember him and are thinking of all his family and friends โค๏ธ
Remembering another
@OfficialWRC
legend today, 15 years after his passing - the 2001 WRC Champion, the late great Richard Burns ๐ one of the nicest guys in motorsport, one of the bravest, and for sure one of my best teammates ever! The world of rallying will never forget him โค๏ธ
Me and Richard were such tough guys back in the day! ๐ช๐ Today we remember a real legend of rallying - my good friend and one of the nicest guys, Richard Burns became WRC champion on this day 20 years ago. We will never forget โค
๐ท: Petrz Fitz /
@eWRCresults
Nearly 20 years we've been racing each other, in WRC and RX, and we've had fun and been smiling through basically all of it ๐ช๐ผ happy birthday my friend
@SebastienLoeb
, hope there's some more battles still to come! ๐
Happy birthday my old friend
@SebastienLoeb
๐คฉ I think this is your 60th birthday or something rightโฆ? ๐ด๐ผ All I know is you are so much older than me ๐ but hope you have a great day! ๐ฅณ
18 years ago today was a very special day for me! I got my first ever
@OfficialWRC
podium at Rally Acropolis, finishing 2nd behind my friend and the legend Colin McRae ๐๐ผ
#throwback
That feeling...! My dad and I driving our different generation of Subaru Impreza up the hill at
@fosgoodwood
- him the 2002 WRC and me the 2019 ARA.
Definitely one for the memory books!
I want to say a massive thank you to all of you, my amazing, loyal fans from all over the world, for supporting me every step of the way ๐๐ผ look forward to seeing you on my 'Farewell Tour' and other events very soon!
Spot anything odd here? ๐ค
20 years ago today one of the most famous moments in Norwegian rally history happened to me at Rally Finnskog, after oil problems the only solution was an extra oil supply tied to the roof! And it worked - we won!
Remembering a true WRC great, my friend Richard Burns, who won his 2001 WRC title on this day ๐ and tragically we also lost him on this day 4 years later... Richard was one of the nicest and best guys in motorsport, and the rallying world will never forget him โค๏ธ
Massive congratulations to
@KalleRovanpera
for becoming the youngest ever
@OfficialWRC
Champion today - a historic and fully deserved moment! ๐ So happy for him and his father Harri, great people and great friends to our family ๐คฉ
#OTD
back in 2004 I had one of the worst accidents of my whole career at Rally Germany - you can see the impact! Even now it still feels incredible to have got through it without a scratch - and then to win the next rally in Japan was an amazing feeling!
A very proud day! ๐คฉ๐
Oliver and Elliott were fantastic! Their intelligent and calculated drive was incredible to see. I am so proud to see them both on the top step at Oliver's home event was everything. ๐ธ๐ช
It was an honour to be able to give Malcolm Wilson and David Richards, two of the most influential and supportive people in my whole career, a small token of my appreciation - a replica
#FarewellTour
helmet - on the podium at
#WalesRallyGB
yesterday! ๐คฉ
Our dear family dog Joseph became ill and sadly left us today.
So many memories after 11 fine years together. Joseph was also of great support to me through my illness a few years ago, and we will all miss him very much.
Rest in peace my old friend โค๏ธ
This weekend should have been
@RallySweden
- such a special event and one I have such fantastic memories from! Especially back in 2005 where I won the rally in front of so many fans, an amazing moment ๐คฉ๐ (and I have forgiven Marcus for not letting us past sooner now ๐ )!
My winning car from
@WalesRallyGB
last year (chassis 52) has arrived, a brand new rebuild ready for the museum! ๐คฉ My Subaru from my first ever WRC win at Rally GB back in 2002 is already in the museum - special to have my first and last wins together in my collection! ๐๐๐ผWRC
๐จ MONTE-CARLO EDITION GIVEAWAY๐จ
I would like to give away 20 of my Monte-Carlo limited-edition DS3โs to some of you! ๐คฉ
To enter, please comment which one of my cars you love the most! Itโs very easy!
I will pick 20 winners at random! GOOD LUCK! ๐ช
So I have some news... no more championships for me, but I'm not hanging up my helmet completely! I still want to do cool stuff, including a 'Farewell Tour' this year ๐ช๐ผ๐ stay tuned for a short video coming in a few hours where I explain more! ๐ฅ
It's the iconic
@AcropolisRally
this week, and I've got a lot of cool memories! ๐คฉ๐ฌ๐ท As well as our win in 2004, plus 4 other podiums, we also had this moment in 2002 where my steering wheel came loose during a stage, and Phil had to get the tools and fix it while I drove! ๐ง๐
Time for another
@AcropolisRally
memory - and this is a famous one! ๐ Back in 2002 my steering wheel came loose during a stage, and Phil had to get the tools and fix it while I kept driving ๐ง๐ and we still managed to finish the stage 2nd fastest if I remember right! ๐
It's Rally Finland this week, so it's time for my tradition of sharing mine and Phil's record-breaking run through the legendary Ouninpohja back in 2004! ๐คฉ
Check out the full onboard at ๐จ
#GetsFasterNow
Remembering you on your birthday, my friend.
We honour your memory by remembering the incredible boundaries you broke to share your passion with the world.
We also remember you as the caring friend, colleague and icon.
With great love to your family ๐
Thank you, Ken
One of the best things about my
@OfficialWRC
return at the weekend was being able to meet so many old friends and fans - and of course putting on a show for the fans ๐ check out these cool angles from the Riudecanyes 'donut' yesterday! ๐ฉ
It's a win at
@RallySweden
Historic! Won every stage, and ended over a minute ahead of 4WD car behind us! ๐ช๐ผ Not a bad way to spend Pernilla's birthday ๐๐
Hard to believe our boy
@OliverSolberg01
is turning 19 today! ๐คฏ๐ Me and Pernilla are so proud of him - not just for everything he has achieved, but for growing up into such a fantastic young man โค๏ธ happy birthday son! โค๏ธ๐ฅณ
Fantastic to catch up with
@SebOgier
&
@SebastienLoeb
here in Spain! Someone mentioned this is the first time 15
@OfficialWRC
titles have raced in the same rally - pretty cool! ๐
A fantastic day reuniting with old friends! ๐คฉ
My deepest thanks goes to my good friends Mashita san and Shigeo Sugaya for the tour of the legendary
@STI_lnc
gallery.
It was incredible to talk about the many memories from time spent with Subaru ๐ฏ๐ต
The livery has been put on
@Petter_Solberg
's 2004 Japan Rally-winning Impreza WRC today as the restoration project by Prodrive Legends nears completion.
Ride onboard our Escort Mk2 as I have a short test before
@RallySweden
Historic - here with
@OliverSolberg01
as my co-driver! Turn the sound up and enjoy ๐
It's the month of Monte! ๐คฉ
Monte-Carlo holds fantastic memories for not only myself, but every driver who has the privilege to drive the rally! ๐ช
Oliver and Elliott are getting ready to start their title fight season with Skoda - I can't wait to see what they can achieve! ๐คฉ
People think that when me and
@SebastienLoeb
are chatting it's about our old rally days or RX fights - actually, it's always about the best place for manicures! ๐๐ ๐ผ
Great photo by
@PureRallycross
๐ธ
Great news that
@OliverSolberg01
's WRC journey will continue as he joins
@toksportwrt
to drive the new Fabia RS Rally2! ๐ It's a fantastic team, and great to have a calm, stable environment while being able to keep learning and fight for the WRC2 championship in 2023!
Happy birthday to one of my very best friends and legendary co-driver Phil Mills ๐ you don't look a day over 21! ๐ Looking forward to getting back in the car with you at
@WalesRallyGB
this year!! ๐ช๐ผ
Fair to say I didn't expect to be sat 3rd overall tonight ๐ ahead of the top 2 in the WRC Championship, pretty cool ๐ but it was just one short stage so we'll enjoy it, but be more realistic for tomorrow's stages!
Great to catch up with legend Toshi and Hiroki Arai at the Central Rally Aichi/Gifu!
In one year the
@OfficialWRC
season finale will take place in
@2020rallyjapan
- 10 years after the last ๐ฏ๐ต WRC event and 16 years after I won the first ever
#WRC
in ๐ฏ๐ต
#Subaru
#STI
My first event of 2019 is confirmed - I'll be at
@RallySweden
! Oliver has taken my Polo R5 for other events ๐ so I'll be back in the Escort Mk2, racing in the Historic class ๐ช๐ผ it's always really fun driving these roads and putting on a show for the fans!
Next week is
@RallyFinland
, so it's time for the annual tradition of sharing our record-breaking run through the legendary Ouninpohja back in 2004! ๐คฉ
20 years on, it's special to see how much interest and comments it still gets 20 years later! (full video on my Facebook๐น)
Wow! This is so special, Team Norway are
@RaceOfChampions
Nations Cup winners! ๐คฉ๐ฅณ๐ณ๐ด Very emotional to win this with
@OliverSolberg01
, amazing day!