Lancia Corse HF Impresses on Gravel Debut at Rally Portugal, Retains WRC2 Teams Lead
Nikolay Gryazin finished second in Rally2 with two stage wins, as Lancia's Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale showed resilience on its first world-level gravel event despite harsh weather and an unlucky retirement for Yohan Ro…
- 2nd
- 2
- Lead retained
What Happened
Rally Portugal marked the first world-level gravel appearance for the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, with the team facing highly changeable weather, rain, mud, and deeply rutted stages. Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand showed strong pace early but retired after contact with a rock on Saturday, while Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov delivered a fast, consistent run to finish second among Rally2 crews.
- First FIA WRC gravel event for the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale
- Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand showed strong pace despite unlucky incident
- Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov finished second among Rally2 crews with two stage wins
- Lancia Corse HF retains the lead in the WRC2 Teams' standings
“A podium finish in Portugal marks another important milestone for Lancia. After our strong performances on asphalt, securing a second place on gravel in one of the most demanding rallies of the WRC calendar confirms the competitiveness of the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale and the strength of the entire Lancia Corse HF project.”
“As this rally wasn't nominated for our championship campaign, it was a great opportunity to gain valuable experience on gravel with the car. We showed strong pace throughout the event and learned a lot about the car's performance on this surface.”
Why this matters
The result confirms Lancia's Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale is competitive on gravel, building on asphalt wins and keeping the team atop the WRC2 standings early in its comeback season.
Terms in This Story
- WRC2
- The second-tier championship in the FIA World Rally Championship for Rally2 cars.
- Rally2
- A category of rally cars that are less powerful than top-tier Rally1 cars, used in WRC2.
- Super Rally
- A rule allowing retired crews to rejoin the rally the next day with time penalties.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.