WRC 2
Rossel romps to maiden WRC2 win for Lancia
Yohan Rossel eased to WRC2 victory in Croatia on Sunday, marking a maiden victory for Lancia in the category.
Frenchman Rossel failed to put step wrong across an incredibly challenging weekend in Croatia, eventually winning by 38.8sec over young brother Léo, who was piloting a Citroën C3 Rally2.
The victory marked a breakthrough WRC2 win for the Lancia Ypsilon HF Rally2 in just its second-ever WRC start. Nikolay Gryazin was then able to make it a double celebration for the famous Italian marque, completing the podium in third.
“This team is like my family, sometimes it is hard because you have a dream and you cannot do what you want, but I have a great team behind me,” expressed an emotional Rossel. “They push me a lot to keep the concentration and the motivation to stay in WRC2.”
Léo Rossel finished Croatia Rally in second, one spot down on brother Yohan
© At World
Having dropped out of the top three on Saturday with a turbo pipe problem, Gryazin wasted no time at climbing back into third on Sunday, taking a quartet of stage wins to take home the FORUM8 WRC2 Stage Wins Winners award.
Having started the day in third, Roope Korhonen also saw himself overtaken by fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Alejandro Cachón to eventually finish in fifth. It was regardless a remarkable performance for Korhonen, in his maiden WRC2 start on Tarmac.
Korhonen’s result saw him climb to second overall in championship standings, just seven points shy of championship leader Léo Rossel. Rossel now also holds a healthy lead in the overall WRC2 Challenger standings, on account of topping the category in Croatia.
Nikolay Gryazin fought back to finish WRC2 third overall
© Jaanus Ree
Italian youngster Roberto Daprá came up against various challenges, including a lucky escape on Saturday when he pinballed off a rock face but was able to continue. Eventually, he would bring his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 home in sixth position, more than 90sec clear of the Fabia of Emil Lindholm.
Another making his WRC2 Tarmac debut was Taylor Gill, who fought back from his own puncture issues to complete the weekend in ninth, one place behind Polish veteran Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
Rounding out the top 10 as the first Ford Fiesta Rally2 driver home was Estonia’s Romet Jürgenson.
There were also Sunday celebrations for Austria’s Johannes Keferböck who took home WRC Masters Cup honours.
