Lancia Corse closes historic WRC season in Sardinia as 20-year-old Sarrazin shows front-running pace
Lancia Corse HF closed its first WRC season at Rally Italia Sardegna with the WRC2 Teams' World Championship already secured and 20-year-old Pablo Sarrazin again showing front-running pace.
- 20
- SS2
- 2nd
- SS8
What Happened
Lancia Corse HF brought its Rally Italia Sardegna to a close with a result heavily affected by misfortune, in the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship season. The rally once again proved to be one of the most demanding events on the calendar, but the weekend still provided further confirmation of the potential of the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, above all through the performance of 20-year-old Pablo Sarrazin. Rally Italia Sardegna also brings Lancia Corse HF's first WRC season to a close, a campaign that culminated in the WRC2 Teams' World Championship title and confirmed the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale's consistent competitiveness throughout the year.
After a strong start, Sarrazin set the fastest WRC2 time on SS2, immediately demonstrating his ability to compete with the leading drivers in the category, and his pace remained consistently strong through the following stages before his retirement on SS8. He rejoined the Super Rally and even on the final day continued to post times closely matching those of the leading WRC2 crews, taking second place in the Power Stage on Sardinia's demanding gravel stages. His team principal later referred to a minor technical issue and a puncture during his rally.
- Pablo Sarrazin, 20: fastest WRC2 time on SS2, strong pace through the following stages, retired on SS8, rejoined under Super Rally and matched the leading WRC2 times on the final day, finishing second in the Power Stage.
- Léo Rossel: landed heavily on SS2 after one of the most spectacular jumps of the rally, forcing the crew to retire; he returned under the Super Rally regulations, but his co-driver's back pain made a second retirement necessary.
- Conner Martell: retired on the second day after hitting a tree on SS2; having returned to competition, he was forced to stop again after SS12.
- Stefano Avandero: completed his first competitive kilometres at the wheel of the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, maintaining a solid pace on Sardinia's demanding and highly technical gravel roads.
“It was a weekend with our two youngsters, Pablo and Léo. Pablo was consistently at the forefront throughout the rally and, despite a minor technical issue and a puncture, he clearly showed the pace to fight for the podium in what was an extremely competitive field. It was a very encouraging performance from him. For Léo, unfortunately, the weekend was more complicated. A heavy landing after a jump damaged the car and shortened their first day. The crew tried to restart the following day, but back pain for his co-driver, followed by a puncture on Sunday morning, ultimately brought their rally to an end. So, in terms of results, it was a mixed weekend, but the performance was very positive. Both crews showed very good speed and real potential, even if the incidents prevented them from turning that pace into the results they deserved. This is something we can be very optimistic about as we look ahead to next season.”
Beyond a particularly unfortunate Rally Italia Sardegna, the event was an opportunity to look back at the journey of the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale throughout its first FIA WRC season. The car demonstrated competitiveness across the different surfaces encountered during the year, progressively building experience through both asphalt and gravel rallies and repeatedly fighting at the sharp end of the WRC2 field. That journey culminated in Paraguay with the WRC2 Teams' World Championship title, a historic result confirming the level reached by the Lancia Corse HF project just one year after the marque's official return to the World Rally Championship. Sardinia therefore closes a season that represented much more than a return to competition: the first stage of an ongoing development journey for the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
20years old
Fastest WRC2 time on SS2 and second place in the Power Stage in Sardinia.
Previously from Lancia
Lancia Corse HF had already clinched the WRC2 Teams' World Championship in Paraguay before the closing rounds of the season, arriving at Rally Chile Biobío with Nikolay Gryazin still mathematically in the drivers' title fight. At that event, Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand delivered a commanding WRC2 victory for the team, finishing eighth overall in the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
- Lancia Corse HF wins WRC2 at Rally Chile Biobío as Rossel takes eighth overall
- Lancia Corse HF heads to Chile as WRC2 teams' champions, Gryazin chases drivers' title
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Lancia's official releases.
Why this matters
Rally Italia Sardegna closes the first WRC season for Lancia Corse HF, one year after the marque's official return to the World Rally Championship, and confirms the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale's competitiveness across asphalt and gravel. The WRC2 Teams' World Championship title secured in Paraguay is the project's headline result, while Sarrazin's speed is something the team says it can be optimistic about for next season.
Terms in This Story
- WRC2
- The second-tier category of the FIA World Rally Championship, which has both a drivers' title and a teams' world championship.
- Power Stage
- The final timed stage of a WRC rally, which awards additional championship points to the fastest crews.
- Super Rally
- A WRC regulation that lets a crew which retired on one day rejoin the rally on a later day.
- SS2
- SS stands for Special Stage, a timed competitive section of a rally; SS2 is the second special stage of the event.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.