WRC 2
Gryazin survives Cachón charge to claim WRC2 victory in Japan
Nikolay Gryazin claimed his maiden WRC2 victory for Lancia after fending off a spirited Alejandro Cachón challenge on Sunday at FORUM8 Rally Japan.
Gryazin started the final day in his Lancia Ypsilon HF Integrale with a slender 5.7sec advantage over Cachón’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, but saw that margin reduced to 4.2sec after the opening pass of Nukata.
The Bulgarian responded on the following Lake Mikawako test to push the gap back beyond five seconds, where it remained through both runs of the Kuragaike Park super special. On the first pass, the pair could not be split, setting identical times.
Cachón began his final push for back-to-back Japan victories on the penultimate stage, going 2.9sec faster than Gryazin to reduce the gap to just 2.8sec ahead of the Wolf Power Stage.
“It feels like a proper push,” said the Spaniard. “I’m going to win, I’m completely sure. It will be epic.”
Alejandro Cachón on a Sunday push
© At World
But the prediction did not come true. Cachón caught a wheel in a drainage ditch on the final stage, spinning his Yaris and nudging a tree. Although the damage was only cosmetic and he was able to continue, the incident ended his hopes of victory and left Gryazin to win by 18.3sec.
“When you have the fight from the beginning and something happens then it’s calm,” said a delighted Gryazin. “But when you have to push every day, it’s a different emotion.”
The result marked Gryazin’s first WRC2 victory since FORUM8 Rally Japan 2025 and lifted him to the top of the 2026 WRC2 Drivers’ Championship. He now leads by four points after moving ahead of team-mate Yohan Rossel, Léo Rossel and Roope Korhonen, while Cachón climbed to fifth in the standings.
Yuki Yamamoto claimed his maiden WRC2 podium in front of his home fans
© At World
