Rally Saudi Arabia: Škoda drivers and co-drivers chase WRC2 Challenger titles

› Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Nikolay Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov travel to Rally Saudi Arabia as leaders of their respective WRC2 Challenger standings
› Their Toksport WRT teammates Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo have an outsider chance for both WRC2 Challenger titles
› Even before the start, Toksport WRT has secured the WRC2 teams’ championship*
› The all-new WRC event in Saudi Arabia is centred around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, also known from Formula One races.

Mladá Boleslav, 26 November 2025 – It is a journey into the unknown: For the first time ever, Rally Saudi Arabia (25–29 November 2025) counts towards the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). At the finish of the last event of the 2025 season, not only the new overall world champion will be crowned. The desert roads will also determine the outcome of the fight for the WRC Challenger drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles.

While the season for raincoats and winter tyres has started in most of Europe, the competitors of the FIA World Rally Championship are about to experience blue skies, sunshine and temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius. Saudi Arabia is hosting the season finale for the very first time. However, the journey to Jeddah, a bustling port town on the Red Sea with roughly three million inhabitants, will be far from a relaxing holiday trip for the teams, drivers and co-drivers. Nearly 320 kilometres of stages will challenge the crews with a demanding mix of wide, soft, sandy desert tracks and winding, rough gravel paths.

With 13 of 14 WRC events completed, most of the title decisions are still open. In the WRC2 Challenger drivers’ standings, just 19 points separate leader Nikolay Gryazin from fifth-placed Robert Virves (both Škoda Fabia RS Rally2). Of the top 5, only Italian Roberto Daprà (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) will not compete in the season finale. With 25 points still at stake, mathematically all four remaining drivers can still win the title. “I reckon, it will all come down to clever tyre management,” says Nikolay Gryazin. “It will be crucial, to avoid punctures and find the right balance between speed and safety. But I feel perfectly prepared. My Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 has proven its robustness and speed on gravel roads many times before.”

While Gryazin can win the WRC2 Challenger title on his own merit, his Toksport WRT teammate, Robert Virves, not only needs nothing less than a category win to seize his slim chance for overall victory. At the same time, all his three competitors must not score any or at least very little points. “It’s not over until the finish line,” the Estonian emphasises. “I have nothing to lose and I'm at least going to enjoy the gravel roads. My goal is to gain as much experience as possible.”

The co-drivers’ standings show a similar picture. Konstantin Aleksandrov, Nikolay Gryazin’s navigator, leads the standings. Jakko Viilo, who shares the Toksport WRT run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with Robert Virves, is 19 points down in fifth position.

One title will be decided already before the start: Because currently overall second-placed PH Sport has not entered Rally Saudi Arabia, Toksport WRT cannot loose the lead in the WRC2 teams’ standings anymore. After 2020, 2022 and 2023, the Škoda Motorsport customer will win the title for a fourth time*.

Next to Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov and Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo, five more Škoda crews have entered into the WRC2 category. Among the favourites for category victory are Englishman Gus Greensmith and Swedish co-driver Jonas Andersson. After winning WRC2 at Safari Rally Kenya for team RaceSeven in March, they lately experienced a string of bad luck. “I think, everything is possible in Saudi Arabia,” says Gus Greensmith, who wants to finish off the 2025 season in style and possibly with another win.

Other Škoda crews to watch are Daniel Chwist/Kamil Heller from Poland, Alejandro Mauro/Adrián Pérez from Mexico and Spain respectively as well as Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari from Qatar with Italian co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini. Miguel Granados from Mexico has all but won the WRC Masters Cup*, a title his Spanish co-driver Marc Martí has already in the bag. Three times FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champion Gaurav Gill from India will compete in a Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo together with French co-driver Florian Barral.

The Rally Saudi Arabia consists of 17 special stages covering 319.44 kilometres. The event uses the infrastructure of Jeddah’s Formula One circuit. Due to local customs, the schedule will be slightly different than usual. The ceremonial start at the Jeddah Corniche and a short street stage take place already on Wednesday evening (26 November). After 16 stages across Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the winners will be celebrated on Saturday (29 November) at 2:20 pm local time (12:20 pm CET) on the podium in Jeddah.

* Subject to the official confirmation of the results by the FIA.

Did you know, that…

...for the first time Rally Saudi Arabia has been included in the calendar of the FIA World Rally Championship?
...the event offers extremely different types of stages, ranging from wide open sandy tracks in the desert to rough and winding gravel roads in the mountains?
...Saudi Arabia also hosts other automobile world championships and top racing series like Formula One, Formula E and the Rally Dakar?

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

Standings WRC2 Challenger/Co-drivers (after 13 of 14 rallies)
1 Konstantin Aleksandrov (KGZ), Škoda, 94 points
2 Anssi Viinikka (FIN), Toyota, 90 points
3 Rodrigo Sanjuan (ESP), Toyota, 87 points
4 Borja Rozada (ESP), Toyota, 79 points
5 Jakko Viilo (EST), Škoda, 75 points

Standings WRC2/Teams (after 13 of 14 rallies)
1 Toksport WRT, Škoda, 198 points
2 PH Sport, Citroën, 178 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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