› Roberto Daprà and navigator Luca Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) reach the second position in WRC2 at the first round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship.
› Five Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 feature inside the top 10 of the WRC2 classification.
› Škoda Auto Board Member Martin Jahn co-drives Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on parts of the Monte-Carlo Grand Prix circuit as part of the “125 Years Škoda Motorsport” celebrations.
Monte-Carlo (MCO), 25 January 2026 – As usual, the new season of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) kicked off with Rallye Monte-Carlo. Second place in the WRC2 category went to a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew: Italians Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti of Delta Rally Team climbed onto the podium.
The Rallye Monte-Carlo is notorious for its challenging weather conditions. This year's event was no exception. As soon as the competitors had finished the starting ceremony in the Principality and set off north into the French Alps, the road conditions worsened considerably. Already the first two stages on Thursday afternoon saw crews facing a mixture of snow, slush and sheet ice. Roberto Daprà, the best-placed Škoda driver last year, described: "The trickiest stages of my life. You never know what the grip is.“
The third special stage was even red-flagged on safety grounds after eight cars due to heavy fog reducing visibility to near zero. All WRC2 crews were given a notional time. At that point, Eric Camilli and co-driver Thibault De La Haye were in first place in the WRC2 category. The French pairing, sharing a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of team Orsák Rally Sport, were leading by 15.3 seconds. Roberto Daprà and navigator Luca Guglielmetti of Delta Rally Team followed in sixth position.
The Friday leg out of Gap deep in the French Alps offered a different challenge to the day before. While snow and slush covered most of the stages during the morning loop, mud and standing water forced the drivers to adapt constantly across the afternoon stages. Overnight WRC2 leaders Eric Camilli/Thibault De La Haye experienced a difficult morning. The French Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew was caught out by the changing conditions on the opening stage. „I was too careful,“ Eric Camilli explained the time loss of nearly 50 seconds. Down in fourth position in WRC2 after SS4, the French pairing climbed back to second until Friday’s finish.
Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti were another Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew making good progress during the day. Despite “a big moment in a long left-hander”, the Italians made up two positions reaching the overnight halt in Gap fourth in WRC2.
Saturday consisted of only three proper stages, plus a so-called “super stage” in the streets of Monte Carlo. However, the leg included two runs over the longest stage of the rally, “La Bréole – Bellaffaire”. The 29.93 km test was entirely covered in snow and ice. During the second run, Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti pulled out all stops and posted the fastest time in WRC2 by far.
This result saw the Italians leapfrog Eric Camilli/Thibault De La Haye. In the same stage, Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov slid off the road, promoting Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti to second position in WRC2. Understandably, Roberto Daprà was all smiles after he had also concluded the super special stage around a section of the famous Grand Prix circuit. “Amazing, this was one of the best experiences of my life. It's great to drive in a historic place like the Circuit of Monaco,“ the 24-year-old beamed.
The final leg on Sunday offered four more stages including two 23.45-km-runs over the famous Col de Turini. After bending the suspension, Eric Camilli/Thibault De La Haye fell back to fourth position in WRC2. Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti eventually defended the second place. The Italian Škoda crew also finished runner-up in the WRC2 Challenger classification. „Many people said it was the hardest Monte-Carlo of the last 15 years. I am very proud of the job we have done this weekend,“ Roberto Daprà commented.
Jarosław Kołtun/Ireneusz Pleskot from Poland, Czech-British pairing Filip Kohn/Ross Whittock and John Wartique/Maxime Andernack from Belgium brought the number of Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crews inside the WRC2 top 10 to five.
As part of the “125 Years Škoda Motorsport” celebrations, two former WRC2 champions conducted passenger rides on the super special stage “Monaco Circuit”. Jan Kopecký drove the Škoda Enyaq RS Race concept, Andreas Mikkelsen took to the wheel of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. One of his co-drivers was Martin Jahn, Škoda Auto Board Member for Sales and Marketing.
From the challenging roads of the French Alps, the FIA World Rally Championship travels to the forest tracks of wintry Scandinavia. Next stop also for the Škoda crews is Rally Sweden from 12 to 15 February 2026.
Number of the rally: 4
Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti pulled off a rare coup for WRC2 competitors: In stage 12, the Italians drove their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Delta Rally Team to the fourth fastest time overall, quicker than a handful of the 100-hp-stronger Rally1 cars.
Rallye Monte-Carlo (MCO), 22-25 January 2026, Result WRC2
1 Léo Rossel/Guillaume Mercoiret (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2, 4:37:57.4 hours
2 Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (ITA/ITA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +2:09.5 minutes
3 Arthur Pelamourgues/Bastien Pouget (FRA/FRA), Hyundai i20 N Rally2, +5:11.0 minutes
4 Eric Camilli/Thibault De La Haye (FRA/FRA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +5:38.0 minutes
5 Chris Ingram/Alexander Kihurani (GBR/USA), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +8:44.3 minutes
6 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (BUL/KGZ), Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale, +18:57.8 minutes
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