Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov started their 2025 WRC2 campaign with third position at Rally Islas Canarias. The Bulgarian-Kyrgyzstani pairing finished the asphalt event on the island as the best-placed Škoda crew. Rally Islas Canarias was a part of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) for the first time.
The 301.30 competitive kilometres of Rally Islas Canarias presented a new challenge to the competitors of the WRC. “These stages are unique,” Škoda driver Nikolay Gryazin described the narrow and winding roads zigzagging up and down the mountains on the archipelago’s main island. The character of the roads asked for a relatively hard tyre compound, which in turn made judging the grip level difficult for the drivers. Almost everywhere, lined with rocks on one side and barriers on the other, the stages left no room for mistakes either.
For Gryazin, Rally Islas Canarias was his personal first of seven WRC2 points-scoring events allowed by the regulations. He was the only driver to match the speed of the category-leading duo throughout the event. Sharing a Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with codriver Konstantin Aleksandrov, Gryazin scored a couple of fastest WRC2 times on the 18 stages. “But I never really managed to put pressure on Yohan Rossel or Alejandro Cachón,” he admitted. Third place in WRC2 earned Gryazin 15 championship points.
For 2022 WRC2 Champion Emil Lindholm, Rally Islas Canarias was the first event with a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 since Rally Croatia in 2023. The 28-year-old from Finland and co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen were immediately on the pace and held fourth position in WRC2 until they were delayed by a puncture halfway through the second leg. Eventually, the Toksport WRT crew finished sixth in WRC2. Seventh position of the category went to Robert Daprà and codriver Luca Guglielmetti from Italy, who shared a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Delta Rally Team.
Victory and third position in the WRC Masters Cup classification went to Škoda crews. Escudería Costa Brava’s Antonio Forné/Axel Coronado won the category reserved for drivers over the age of 50 years. Osamu Fukunaga and co-driver Misako Saida, who travelled to Gran Canaria from Japan, secured the last podium position.
Next, after WRC newcomer Rally Islas Canarias is one of the championship’s most iconic events: From 15 to 18 May 2025, the WRC2 crews hit the gravel stages of Rally de Portugal.
Overall WRC Rally Islas Canarias Results
01: Y. Rossel/A. Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) – 3h 01m 50.5s
02: A. Cachón/B. Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 + 29.5s
03: N. Gryazin/K. Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 47.7s
04: E. Llarena/S. Fernández (Citroën C3 Rally2) + 2m 03.5s
05: D. Ruiloba/Á. Vela (Citroën C3 Rally2) + 2m 11.4s
06: E. Lindholm/R. Hämäläinen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 2m 35.6s
See the full event’s results here.