Fan-funded Virves edges Pajari to lead WRC2

Rossel, driving a Citroën C3 Rally2, dominated the day’s early stages, posting fastest times on the first five tests and building a commanding 46.5sec lead over his closest WRC2 rival. However, his fortunes took a dramatic turn on the Tarzan test when he was forced to stop after 11.9km to change a wheel, losing more than two minutes and tumbling to sixth in the standings.

“The only positive is we’ll have a better road position tomorrow,” Rossel said. “It’s tough because we gave everything, but it’s the same for some of the others, and there’s still a long way to go.”

Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Virves had been lying fourth before the final stage, but a sensational time — 11.1sec faster than anyone else — propelled him into the overnight lead, just 1.5sec ahead of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 ace Sami Pajari.

Remarkably, Virves wasn’t even expecting to compete in Greece just weeks ago. A crowdfunding campaign raised more than €50,000 from Estonian fans, enabling the 24-year-old to take part in the event.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz’s consistency in the challenging conditions rewarded him with third place in his Škoda, trailing Pajari by 56.6sec. However, he holds a narrow 10.7sec advantage over Fabrizio Zaldivar, who is fourth in a similar car.

Citroën team-mates Nikolay Gryazin and Rossel rounded out the top six, while several WRC2 frontrunners — including Pierre-Louis Loubet, Lauri Joona, and Gus Greensmith — failed to complete the day.

Virves also led WRC2 Challenger while Armin Kremer is on course to seal the WRC Masters Cup crown with a three-minute lead in the class.