Rally del Paraguay: WRC2 title fight heats up as Škoda crews travel to South America

› Škoda drivers Gus Greensmith and Robert Virves meet WRC2 leading duo Oliver Solberg and Yohan Rossel in a direct competition for championship points.
› Nikolay Gryazin and Fabrizio Zaldivar, both driving Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, also aim for a WRC2 top position at the FIA World Rally Championship’s tenth round.
› With 14 entries, nearly half of the WRC2 field relies on Škoda rally cars.

Mladá Boleslav (CZE), 27 August 2025 – No more tactics in the fight for the WRC2 title: At the upcoming Rally del Paraguay (28-31 August 2025), four of the top five in the category overall standings compete for championship points. Škoda drivers Gus Greensmith and Robert Virves will face current leader Oliver Solberg and runner-up Yohan Rossel. Other Škoda drivers aiming for a top result are Nikolay Gryazin and local hero Fabrizio Zaldivar.

Drivers competing for the WRC2 title can score points at not more than seven events. With the calendar featuring 14 rallies, tactics come into play: Top drivers usually chose their points scoring events tactically. As the season enters its final phase with the tenth round, Rally del Paraguay, these tactical games are mostly over. Alone four of the WRC2 top 5 have entered the first of two consecutive South American events.

For WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg and runner-up Yohan Rossel, Rally del Paraguay is already their sixth points-scoring event. This puts Gus Greensmith’s 28-point deficit to Oliver Solberg into a different perspective. Having scored WRC2 points in three events only, Gus Greensmith is currently in fourth position. The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver from England and his Swedish co-driver, Jonas Andersson, are chasing their second category victory of the season, which would earn them another 25 championship points.

With less pressure, but equally big ambitions, Robert Virves also aims for a top result. The 25-year-old is sharing a Toksport WRT-run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with his fellow Estonian, Jakko Viilo. Robert Virves is currently in fifth position in the WRC2 overall standings. He can score WRC2 points on only two more events. “I know, that I cannot win the title anymore. But after a difficult first half of the season, it was not only victory in Estonia and third place in Finland that strengthened my confidence. The great support from Toksport WRT and its cooperation with Škoda Motorsport and the speed and reliability of my Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 have also helped a lot,” Robert Virves emphasises.

Nikolay Gryazin is a kind of dark horse in the fight for the WRC2 title. The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver from Bulgaria currently is ranked 22th in the category standings. However, he can still score at five events – more than any other of the title contenders. In Paraguay, Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov are entered by team Toksport WRT.

Rally del Paraguay for the very first time is a part of the WRC calendar, providing level playing field for all WRC2 title contenders at the start: None of them has ever competed in the South American country before. Conversely, more than a dozen local drivers want to use their knowledge of Paraguayan roads to their advantage. Three of them even have a special bond: Miguel Zaldivar Sr. and his sons, Fabrizio and Miguel Jr., will all be driving Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Like their fellow countrymen, they want to impress at their home event in front of hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans.

The ueno Rally del Paraguay, as the event is called officially, is based in Encarnación in the very south of the country. The event kicks off on Thursday (28 August 2025) with the ceremonial start at 7 pm local time (Friday, 12 am CEST). Friday is the longest day of the rally and will cover 140.90 kilometres across eight stages. The Saturday leg features seven stages over 113.60 kilometres. Sunday will bring the decision with four more stages and 80.72 competitive kilometres. The winners are expected on the podium at Misión Jesuítica Trinidad around 1:35 pm (6:35 pm CEST).

Did you know, that…
…Paraguay is – after Brazil, Argentina and Chile – the fourth South American country to host a round of the FIA World Rally Championship?
…Paraguay has been a part of the South American Championship CODASUR since 2010 and has a strong rally community and fanbase?
…the host city of the rally, Encarnación, is separated from Argentina only by the River Paraná?
…therefor a large number of Argentinian fans are expected to cross the bridge from Posadas to attend the event? Until 2019, Rally Argentina was part of the WRC and boasted one of the biggest audiences on the calendar.
…that the Misión Jesuítica de la Santísima Trinidad del Paraná, which provides the backdrop for the podium, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 9 of 14 events)
1 Oliver Solberg (SWE), Toyota, 85 points (from five rallies)
2 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 82 points (from five rallies)
3 Roope Korhonen (FIN), Toyota, 69 points (from five rallies)
4 Gus Greensmith (GBR), Škoda, 57 points (from three rallies)
5 Robert Virves (EST), Škoda, 50 points (from five rallies)

Standings WRC2/Teams (after 9 of 14 events)
1 PH Sport, Citroën, 178 points
2 Toksport WRT, Škoda, 131 points
3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG, Toyota, 89 points
4 Sarrazin Motorsport-Iron Lynx, Citroën, 64 points

2025 FIA World Rally Championship

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