Japanese Rally: Gryazin leads the WRC2 Challenger standings

Nikolay Gryazin leaves Japan as the leader of the WRC2 Challenger championship, a position secured by his second-place finish on the Japanese stages. The home crew of Takuma Kamada and Yuichi Matsumoto claimed victory in the WRC Masters Cup category. 

The Toksport WRT crew of Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov is leaving Japan satisfied. At the final asphalt event of the season, they demonstrated strong pace and delivered a performance that moved them to the top of the WRC2 Challenger standings. Gryazin must still defend this position at the upcoming round in Saudi Arabia, where he holds a four-point lead. 

In Japan, Gryazin was among the fastest from the start and mostly held second place, which he also achieved in the final standings. Gryazin put pressure on the leading crew of Alejandro Cachón and Borja Rozada, but with a few exceptions, he was unable to close the gap on them during the competition. "I'm trying my best. But I think second place is the best I can do," Gryazin said on Saturday evening, assessing the competition so far.

Sunday’s leg confirmed this assessment, with Gryazin still having to fight hard, ultimately finishing safely in second place, less than a minute behind the winner. The Bulgarian driver was satisfied with the result of the competition, which was full of pitfalls in the form of drainage ditches, rock faces, and concrete walls lining the narrow forest roads in the Aichi and Gifu regions. 

In contrast, the event turned sour for Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson, also driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Greensmith struggled with understeer on Friday, which the team managed to improve during the midday service. This allowed him to push harder in the afternoon. But instead of continuing the attack on Saturday, the crew was forced to retire before the start of the day’s programme due to technical issues.

 
Two local Škoda crews, however, could be pleased with their performances. Hiroki Arai and co-driver Hiroki Tachikui brought their Škoda Fabia RS of the R2R×YAHAGI Racing Team home in fifth place in both WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger and also set the fastest WRC2 time on the final Power Stage. Seventh place in WRC2 went to Takuma Kamada and Yuichi Matsumoto, whose result also secured their victory in the WRC Masters Cup for drivers over 50.

The FIA World Rally Championship now heads to its season finale. The WRC will visit Saudi Arabia for the first time, with the event scheduled for 25–29 November. Gryazin and Aleksandrov will fight for the WRC2 Challenger driver and co-driver titles against two rival crews.