After two national victories, Lancia now wins the WRC2 in Croatia... and finishes 4th overall.

Just a few days after making a resounding comeback with two victories in Italy and France, Lancia reaches a new milestone. This time, the Italian brand made its mark on the world stage. In Croatia, it claimed its first victory in the World Rally Championship... and confirmed this with an impressive overall performance.

A world victory that changes everything

On the demanding roads of Rally Croatia, Lancia didn't just shine: it dominated. Competing in WRC2, the duo of Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand delivered a masterful performance from start to finish. From the very first special stages, the tone was set. Six fastest times over the first two days, perfect gap management and no errors on a rally renowned for its complexity. At the end of the 20 special stages, Rossel took victory with a 38.8-second lead over his direct pursuer. A clear, uncontested victory, which above all marks Lancia's return to the highest world level after decades of absence.

An almost perfect double for Lancia Corse HF

But this success was not an isolated feat. Lancia's other entry, Nikolay Gryazin - Konstantin Aleksandrov, also made its mark. Very fast throughout the weekend, Gryazin even set seven scratch times. A technical problem on special stage 14 temporarily ruled him out of the fight for victory, but his comeback on Sunday was impressive: he won all the day's special stages to finally clinch a well-deserved third place. If it hadn't been for this incident, Lancia would probably have scored a one-two finish.

Ypsilon Rally2 already on top

At the heart of this success story is a car: the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale. Over the rally's 300 kilometers of timed stages, it set the absolute benchmark. Thirteen stage wins out of twenty, remarkable consistency and the ability to adapt to changing conditions: the demonstration was total.

But beyond the WRC2, it's above all the overall standings that impress. Mixing it up with the Rally1s, the Ypsilons finished 4th and 6th overall, against much more powerful cars such as the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 or Hyundai i20 N Rally1. A rare performance for a Rally2, confirming the potential of the Lancia Corse HF project.

A strong presence in the overall rankings

Victory in the scratch rankings went to Takamoto Katsuta, ahead of Sami Pajari and Hayden Paddon. But just behind this Rally1 trio came a surprise: Yohan Rossel lifted his Lancia to 4th place. He beat a number of WRC2 benchmarks and confirmed that this victory was not just about the category... but about pure performance. His brother, Léo Rossel, finished fifth, while Gryazin completed the picture with sixth place overall. Three WRC2 cars in the top 6, including two Lancia cars: a strong signal.

1. Yohan Rossel - Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale - 02:56:35.7
2. Léo Rossel - Citroën C3 - +38.8
3. Nikolay Gryazin - Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale - +57.9
4. Alejandro Cachón - Toyota GR Yaris - +1:22.9
5. Roope Korhonen - Toyota GR Yaris - +1:34.1
6. Roberto Daprà - Skoda Fabia RS - +2:18.2
7. Emil Lindholm - Skoda Fabia RS - +4:00.6
8. Kajetan Kajetanowicz - Toyota GR Yaris - +4:49.0
9. Taylor Gill - Toyota GR Yaris - +4:54.5
10. Romet Jürgenson - Ford Fiesta Mk II - +5:01.4
11. Andreas Mikkelsen - Skoda Fabia RS - +6:58.2
12. Viliam Prodan - Skoda Fabia RS - +13:19.7
13. Johannes Keferböck - Toyota GR Yaris - +19:11.7 (+10s penalty included)
14. Ugur Soylu - Skoda Fabia RS - +26:25.8
15. Bernhard Ten Brinke - Toyota GR Yaris - +58:28.6
16. Henk Vossen - Hyundai i20 N - +1:02:20.9 (+1:10 penalty included)
17. Mille Johansson - Ford Fiesta Mk II - +1:10:12.2

Lancia takes the lead

With this result, Lancia Corse HF moves to the top of the WRC2 team standings with 84 points. As for the drivers, Yohan Rossel has climbed to third place in the championship, while Gryazin is now fifth.

Beyond the figures, a dynamic is building. After the encouraging Monte-Carlo, the national victories, then this success in Croatia, the progress is rapid... and impressive. Just a few weeks ago, Lancia's return to rallying might have seemed primarily a marketing exercise. Today, there's no room for doubt.

The brand isn't just there: it's winning. What's more, it's already dominating a category as competitive as WRC2, while at the same time shaking up the overall hierarchy. The next event was the Rally Islas Canarias in Spain. After an absence of more than 30 years at the top, Lancia is back. And this time, it's only the beginning.