› Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov of Škoda Motorsport customer team Toksport WRT finish Rally Japan second in WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger.
› The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew heads into the FIA World Rally Championship season finale in Saudi Arabia as leaders of WRC2 Challenger drivers’ and co-drivers category.
› Local Škoda crew Takuma Kamada/Yuichi Matsumoto wins the WRC Masters Cup classification.
Toyota City (JPN), 9 November 2025 – Second place in WRC2 Challenger classification at Rally Japan was enough for Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) to advance into the overall lead of the category. Before the season’s finale Rally Saudi Arabia in three weeks’ time, both are four points ahead in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ rankings respectively.
Rally Japan was the last all-asphalt round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship. The 20 special stages, which were held in the forests of the Aichi and Gifu area, mostly featured narrow, winding roads. Often edged by drainage ditches, rock faces or even concrete walls, they left no room for error. Heavy rain during the last leg on Sunday added to the challenge.
Entered into the WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger categories, Nikolay Gryazin from Bulgaria and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov from Kyrgyzstan mastered the challenge perfectly. Realising, that they could not match the speed of the eventual winners, Alejandro Cachón/ Borja Rozada, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew focused on securing as many championship points as possible. They briefly interrupted the Spaniards' winning streak by taking the WRC2 lead after stage 4. However, the former order was re-established already after the next speed test and Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov back in second position.
After the Friday leg, they trailed the category leaders by 12.1 seconds. By Saturday evening, the gap has grown to 26.9 seconds. “I’m trying my best,” Nikolay Gryazin said. “But I think, more than second is not possible.“ Nevertheless, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew managed to keep the third-placed pairing of Jan Solans and Rodrigo Sanjuan at bay. They extended their lead over their Spanish rivals to 49.8 seconds at the finish. By collecting 17 championship points each, Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov took the overall lead in the WRC2 Challenger drivers‘ and co-drivers‘ standings respectively.
By contrast, Japan was not really worth the long journey for Englishman Gus Greensmith and Swedish co-driver Jonas Andersson. During the morning of the Friday leg, Gus Greensmith struggled with the tendency of the RaceSeven run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to understeer. Some adjustments during the midday service seemed to help. “I’m happy with the progress, we were pushing on in the afternoon,“, he described after finishing the Friday leg in fourth WRC2 position. However, the situation worsened again the next morning – Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson retired before Saturday’s second stage due to a technical issue.
Lady Luck was more on the side of two local Škoda crews. Hiroki Arai and co-driver Hiroki Tachikui brought their R2R×YAHAGI Racing Team run Fabia home in fifth place in both WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger categories. They even posted the fastest WRC2 time on the so-called power stage. Takuma Kamada/Yuichi Matsumoto finished the event seventh in WRC2. They also won the WRC Masters Cup classification, which is reserved for drivers aged 50 and over.
The finale of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship is scheduled for 25–29 November, when Rally Saudi Arabia is part of the WRC calendar for the very first time.
Number of the Rally: 4
While the WRC2 title has already been decided, the final round of the season will determine the WRC2 Challenger champions. Following Rally Japan, the leaders and runners-up in the WRC2 Challenger standings are separated by just four points. In the drivers’ classification, it’s Nikolay Gryazin (Škoda) versus Roope Korhonen (Toyota). Meanwhile, their respective navigators, Konstantin Aleksandrov and Anssi Viinikka, are competing for the co-drivers' title with the same gap. With Jan Solans and co-driver Rodrigo Sanjuan only three more points adrift, the fight for both titles will go down to the wire at Rally Saudi Arabia.
Rally Japan (JPN), 6-9 November 2025, Result WRC2 Challenger
1 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (ESP/ESP), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, 3:31:50.5 hours
2 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (BUL/KGZ), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +54.6 seconds
3 Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (ESP/ESP), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +1:44.4 minutes
4 Heikki Kovalainen/Sae Kitagawa (FIN/JPN), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +4:09.4 minutes
5 Hiroki Arai/Hiroki Tachikui (JPN/JPN), Škoda Fabia Rally2, +4:26.6 minutes
6 Diego Domínguez/Rogelio Peñate (PRY/ESP), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +4:40.1 minutes
Standings WRC2 Challenger/Drivers (after 13 of 14 rallies)
1 Nikolay Gryazin (BUL), Škoda, 94 points
2 Roope Korhonen (FIN), Toyota, 90 points
3 Jan Solans (ESP), Toyota, 87 points
4 Roberto Daprà (ITA), Škoda, 86 points
5 Robert Virves (EST), Škoda, 75 points
6 Kajetan Kajetanowicz (POL), Toyota, 72 points
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