Solberg suffers broken collarbone in Latvia crash

Having started on the front row of the grid in semi-final two alongside long-time rival Sebastien Loeb, Solberg's Volkswagen Motorsport-built Polo GTI Supercar was involved in a first corner contact, where he was initially forced wide before being hit by Janis Baumanis' STARD-run Ford Fiesta.

Although the car bore visibly little damage, the event was delayed for 25 minutes while medical crews extracted Solberg, who reported back pain, from the car and was then taken to hospital.

The Latvian round marked Solberg's second significant accident in as many seasons.

The Norwegian was taken to hospital following a heavy impact after the chequered flag at the Canadian round in 2016, when Anton Marklund's Volkswagen Polo suffered brake problems and hit the rear of Solberg's title-winning Citroen DS 3 after the finish.

Solberg's chances of winning a third World RX title were put out of reach in the event by teammate Johan Kristofferson, who claimed the title and secured the teams' championship for the PSRX squad.

"I am devastated that our driver and my husband Petter was in hospital when our big dream came true," said Solberg's wife and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team principal, Pernilla Solberg.

"It's all together a very emotional feeling: I am crying both happy tears and sad tears at the same time here."

With just 11 days before administrative check-in for the penultimate round of the World RX series at the Estering in Germany, Solberg's participation is in doubt, with collarbone injuries generally considered to take in the region of three-weeks to heal.

Although he remains second in the World RX drivers' standings, the Norwegian's retirement from the Latvian round in the semi-finals means he is now just five points ahead of outgoing champion Mattias Ekstrom and up on Loeb.

The PSRX squad has entered three Polo GTIs for the Buxtehude event, Volkswagen Motorsport test driver Dieter Depping joining Solberg and Kristoffersson in the team.