WRC Rally Monte Carlo
Can Lancia enjoy success on its anticipated WRC return?
This weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally will see a factory supported Lancia effort return to the WRC for the first time since 1992
Tom Howard
Edited: Jan 22, 2026, 2:38 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Yohan Rossel, Arnaud Dunand, Lancia Corse HF Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale
Photo by: WRC.com
Lancia is confident it can immediately be in a position to fight for victories and a championship title on its return to the World Rally Championship this year.
The famous Italian brand will return to the WRC stages at this weekend’s season opener in Monte Carlo with its all-new Ypsilon HF Integrale Rally2 car to do battle in the championship’s second tier WRC2 category.
Lancia’s anticipated return marks the first time the 10-time WRC constructors' champions will field a factory supported effort in the WRC since 1992, when it's all conquering Delta HF Integrale lifted its last constructors’ title.
Read Also:
The car maker has been bold regarding its ambitions for its WRC comeback in 2026, announcing at its launch last year that it aims to challenge Toyota, Ford, Skoda and Hyundai for the WRC2 title in the first year, with its newly developed Rally2 car. This bullish claim has been backed up by its decision to hire perennial WRC2 title fighters Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin to pilot its two factory-backed cars.
Lancia has not wasted any time developing its new Ypsilon Rally2 car since it officially committed to its WRC return. Lancia’s owners - the Stellantis Group - have already developed and enjoyed success in WRC2 with its Citroen C3 Rally2. The new Ypsilon project has been constructed utilising an entirely new chassis, while the car shares the engine and gearbox from the C3 that has been significantly improved upon.
Rossel and Gryazin, who have previously driven the C3, believe the new Lancia is already developed enough to be fighting for wins from the outset.
Yohan Rossel, Arnaud Dunand, Lancia Corse HF Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale
Photo by: WRC.com
"Immediately I have a good feeling. My first test was on gravel and immediately you can see the gap from the last specification [Citroen C3 Rally2] and the new car," said Rossel. "For sure, it's more reactive on gravel and easier to drive and it seems to grip immediately.
"On tarmac in the past I have had a good car and it is difficult to say where we are, but for sure I have not found any surprises during the tests and we can immediately search for a good set up. I think this is good when you have a new car.
“I think we can fight immediately for the title. The Stellantis Group has a lot of experience with cars and data so it is very easy for a driver to immediately fight for the win.
“It is never easy to start in Monte for sure and we know the difficulties. You can’t say we can win, you just try to do no mistakes at the beginning and try to improve the set up and adapt to the stages. It will be a challenging weekend.”
Gryazin had no hesitation in signing for Lancia, after revealing he agreed to drive for the iconic brand before he’d even tested the Ypsilon for the first time.
“It is true I did say yes [to join Lancia] before driving the car but I was quite confident as I knew the Stellantis Group and Lancia, and I know who is working there, so I was confident the car should be good,” said Gryazin.
Lancia Corse HF team area
Photo by: WRC.com
“I’m really proud to be a part of it and to help develop it. From the feeling-wise I think we are ready to fight already. We just need to confirm it in the results.
“For me, this brand is iconic and my father was driving a Lancia Delta at the start of his rally career. It means a lot because when I was growing up as a child, and there wasn’t a plan to do any rallying, I saw lot of documentaries about rallying and it was mainly about the Lancia brand. Now being a part of this means a lot. Maybe one day our names will be in the history of this brand. It is good motivation for us.”
While the mood in the Lancia camp is buoyant ahead of its maiden round with the Ypsilon, team principal Didier Clement has said the team still has much to learn about its car moving forward and is planning more development tests on both asphalt and gravel.
"The development of the car is like we expected, in fact there were no surprises. We already have some knowledge with these kinds of cars,” said Clement. “We can improve some areas compared to the C3 Rally2. The car is lighter, we have worked a lot on the aerodynamics and it will be an efficient car.
“We had no issues at all during the development tests but I would say it is just a starting point because we will continue to develop the car all season long. We will have some test sessions for Croatia, the Canary Islands and for gravel.
“We plan a test in Finland because with the previous car we were not able to compete at the right level. We will have a proper development test to find the right set up for this specific rally.
“It is amazing and we feel a lot of passion, and we are really excited by this project.”
Photos from Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
Rally Monte Carlo - Shakedown, in photos
WRC
30
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article The headaches facing WRC crews ahead of a ‘proper Monte’
Next article WRC Monte Carlo: Oliver Solberg takes early lead before fog causes red flag
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tom Howard
Argentina set to make WRC comeback in 2028
WRC
WRC 2 d
Argentina set to make WRC comeback in 2028
Sebastien Loeb tests again as Project Rally One submits WRC homologation papers
WRC
WRC 4 d
Sebastien Loeb tests again as Project Rally One submits WRC homologation papers
Latest news
How Istanbul is revamping its F1 circuit to clinch long-term future
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Turkish GP
26 min
How Istanbul is revamping its F1 circuit to clinch long-term future
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 17 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 17 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
19 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe