Lancia Corse HF wins WRC2 at Rally Chile Biobío as Rossel takes eighth overall
Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand delivered a commanding WRC2 victory for Lancia Corse HF at Rally Chile Biobío, finishing eighth overall in the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
- 9 of 16
- 8th
- 7
What Happened
Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand won the WRC2 class at Rally Chile Biobío in the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, finishing eighth overall. Rossel established his pace from the opening kilometres on the fast and technical gravel roads of the Biobío region and stayed firmly at the head of the WRC2 classification. He claimed nine stage wins from the 16 stages contested, building a clear and convincing victory. He also brought the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale into the top five of the overall classification against the Rally1 machinery.
9of 16 special stages
Yohan Rossel was fastest on nine of the 16 stages at Rally Chile Biobío.
- Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand won WRC2 and finished eighth overall.
- It was the first gravel victory of the season for the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
- Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov retired after a rollover on special stage 7.
- The retirement ended Gryazin's WRC2 Drivers' Championship challenge.
- Lancia Corse HF further consolidated its WRC2 Teams' World Championship position with the points scored in Chile.
- WRC2 victory, eighth overall
- Retired after a rollover on special stage 7
- WRC2 Teams' World Championship position consolidated
Having already secured the WRC2 Teams' World Championship in Paraguay, Lancia Corse HF consolidated its position with the points scored in Chile, in a rally the team described as a strong confirmation of the competitiveness and ongoing development of the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale. Gryazin's rollover does not detract from a season that has already delivered a series of strong performances and significant results for Lancia Corse HF. With Rally Chile Biobío completed, the championship enters its final phase, with Rally Italia Sardegna and Rally Saudi Arabia still to come, and the team continues to develop the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale through to the final stage of the year.
Previously from Lancia
Lancia Corse HF arrived at Rally Chile Biobío fresh from clinching the WRC2 Teams' World Championship in Paraguay, with Nikolay Gryazin still mathematically in the drivers' title fight. Earlier, the team had headed to Paraguay for round eleven of the WRC with Gryazin and Rossel aiming to close the gap in the WRC2 championships.
- Lancia Corse HF heads to Chile as WRC2 teams' champions, Gryazin chases drivers' title
- Lancia Corse HF returns to Paraguay gravel for WRC round 11 with Gryazin and Rossel
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Lancia's official releases.
Why this matters
The win is the first gravel victory of the season for the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale and further consolidates Lancia Corse HF's WRC2 Teams' World Championship position as the season enters its final rounds. It also ends Nikolay Gryazin's WRC2 Drivers' Championship challenge after his rollover.
Terms in This Story
- WRC2
- A support class of the FIA World Rally Championship, one level below the top Rally1 category, in which Lancia Corse HF competes with the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
- Special stage
- A timed competitive section of a rally run on closed roads, whose times decide the classification.
- Rally1
- The top class of cars in the FIA World Rally Championship, above WRC2.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.