› Sharing a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Toksport WRT, Estonian pairing Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo dominates WRC2 at the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
› Finnish Škoda crews Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (TGS Worldwide) and Lauri Joona/Samu Vaaleri (MS Munaretto) also collect WRC2 points.
› Former Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Oliver Solberg scores his first WRC overall victory.
Tartu (EST), 20 July 2025 – As expected, Rally Estonia was ruled by crews from Nordic countries. In WRC2, the top 6 positions feature drivers from Estonia or Finland. Victory went to Robert Virves and co-driver Jakko Viilo – the first ever WRC2 win for the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 pairing from Estonia.
Despite suffering from food poisoning, Robert Virves set the pace from the outset. The 25-year-old Estonian and co-driver, Jakko Viilo, recorded the fastest WRC2 time in shakedown and took the category lead after the very first stage. Winning seven of the eight special stages of the first leg, they built up a lead of 35.3 seconds over Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan. The third-placed crew was already more than one minute down. “There's no need for big changes to our Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for tomorrow,” Robert Virves said at the day’s finish before seeing the doctor.
The next morning, Robert Virves was back at full strength. Now as the first WRC2 competitor on the road, the 2022 FIA World Rally Junior Champion had to work his way through the loose gravel behind the Rally1 cars. The result of the reduced grip on the lightning-fast stages was a less dominant day in terms of WRC2 stage wins. However, with some tweaks to their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2’s set-up, Robert Virves and Jakko Viilo successfully managed their lead over Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan. Heading into Sunday's three stages, the gap between first and second place in WRC2 remained at 26.5 seconds.
The final leg comprised only three stages, totalling just a little over 60 kilometres of competition. However, it was far from a walk in the park for WRC2 leaders Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo. And the reason was not the rain that hit the Tartu area and made the stages even more slippery. In the day’s first test, the Estonian pair received a ten-second penalty for a jump start. But, as Georg Linnamäe was struggling to adapt to the unfamiliar conditions, he could gain less than five seconds. One stage later, the Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 overshot a junction. Heading into the 24.20-kilometre, rally-ending power stage, the lead of Robert Virves and Jakko Viilo was down to 14.5 seconds.
Undeterred, they gave it their all one last time and beat their rivals by 3.9 seconds on the power stage, bringing the final gap to 18.4 seconds: Robert Virves and Jakko Viilo had secured their very first WRC2 victory. They also won the WRC2 Challenger classification.
With Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo and Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan way out in front already after day one, a thrilling battle developed for third position in WRC2. In the mix: Finnish Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crews Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (TGS Worldwide). They had to recover from a 10-second penalty due to a jump start and eventually finished fourth. Another Finnish Škoda crew, Lauri Joona/Samu Vaaleri (MS Munaretto), brought home sixth position in WRC2. Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov, among the pre-event favourites for the WRC2 top position, didn’t reach the finish after damaging the suspension of their Toksport WRT run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
For Rally Estonia, current WRC2 leader Oliver Solberg swapped his usual Rally2 car for a top-class Rally1 machine. The Swede, who last season drove a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of team Toksport WRT to WRC2 second overall, celebrated his first overall victory in the FIA World Rally Championship. His direct rivals in the WRC2 overall standings didn’t compete Rally Estonia at all. Consequently, Rally Estonia did not change the positions at the top of the category leaderboard. Englishman Gus Greensmith (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of team RaceSeven) remains in third position, Roberto Daprà from Italy (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Delta Rally Team) stays fourth overall.
Next on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar is another ultra-fast event: Rally Finland (31 July to 3 August 2025) is aptly nicknamed “The Gravel Grand Prix of Finland”.
Number of the rally: 121.5
The soft gravel roads of Rally Estonia, with their long straights, allowed for very high average speeds. On “Kääriku”, the 24.20-kilometre power stage, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew of Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen posted the fastest WRC2 time, averaging 121.5 kph.
Rally Estonia (EST), 17-20 July 2025, Result WRC2
1 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (EST/EST), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, 2:45:18.5 hours
2 Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan (EST/GBR), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +18.4 seconds
3 Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka (FIN/FIN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +49.4 seconds
4 Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (FIN/FIN), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +52.7 seconds
5 Romet Jürgenson/Siim Oja (EST/EST), Ford Fiesta Rally2, +1:11.5 minutes
6 Lauri Joona/Samu Vaaleri (FIN/FIN), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +1:36.0 minutes
Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 8 of 14 rallies)
1 Oliver Solberg (SWE), Toyota, 85 points
2 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 82 points
3 Gus Greensmith (GBR), Škoda, 57 points
4 Roberto Daprà (ITA), Škoda, 49 points
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