Gryazin heads Solberg in Chile WRC2 showdown

Gryazin led from the outset in his Citroën C3 Rally2, securing a trio of stage wins during the first full day in South America. Gus Greensmith initially posed the greatest threat to Gryazin, but the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver dropped from second to fourth after suffering rear tyre damage on the final stage, giving Gryazin some breathing room.

Solberg inherited second place in his similarly-equipped Škoda, with the Swede determined to push hard during Saturday’s gruelling 140km leg to overhaul Gryazin. Victory this weekend would see Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson crowned WRC2 champions.

Gryazin’s day wasn’t without drama. He narrowly avoided disaster on SS6, surviving a heart-stopping moment when his car tipped onto two wheels.

“It’s something which I would have liked to have kept silent,” he joked. “I got a little bit wide, it started to roll and I had to rotate in the other direction. Okay, we are here.”


Citroën’s Yohan Rossel completed the podium just 1.3sec behind Solberg, while Greensmith ended the day 2.5sec adrift in fourth. Jan Solans steered his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 to fifth, with Poland’s Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounding out the top six in his Škoda.