Lancia Corse Gains Valuable Gravel Experience at Rally Città di Foligno

Lancia Corse continues to build momentum in its return to rally competition, recently completing an important milestone at the Rally Città di Foligno in Italy. The event marked the first gravel rally outing for the new Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale and provided the team with valuable experience as development of the car moves forward.

Held on March 6 and 7, the rally served as the opening round of the 2026 Campionato Italiano Rally Terra championship. For Lancia Corse, the main objective was not just results but gathering data and learning how the new rally car performs on loose gravel surfaces in real race conditions.

First Gravel Test for the Ypsilon Rally2

The Rally Città di Foligno represented a key step in the development program for the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale. While the car had already gone through testing and early competition on tarmac, this was the first time it was pushed on gravel during an actual rally event.

The challenging stages around the Italian town of Foligno are known for their rocky and abrasive terrain, which makes them an ideal environment to evaluate performance, durability, and setup adjustments. The conditions allowed the team to analyze how the car behaves on rough surfaces and to collect important data that will be used for future events.

Strong Performance from Nikolay Gryazin

Despite the focus on development, Lancia Corse still delivered an impressive performance during the event. Driver Nikolay Gryazin, paired with co driver Konstantin Aleksandrov, showed strong pace throughout the rally.

Gryazin fought near the front of the field all weekend and finished the event in second place overall. He also set three fastest stage times, including the best time on the final Power Stage. By the end of the rally he crossed the finish line just 10.2 seconds behind the overall winner, demonstrating that the new Lancia package already has competitive potential on gravel.

Valuable Data from Rossel’s Run

The second official Lancia Corse entry featured driver Yohan Rossel with co driver Arnaud Dunand. While Rossel showed strong pace and steadily improved his stage times during the rally, the crew experienced some early technical issues that slowed their progress.

Instead of focusing solely on results, the team used the remainder of the rally to experiment with different setup configurations. This allowed engineers to gather even more information about how the Ypsilon Rally2 performs under various conditions. Rossel was classified sixth overall before the team chose to retire the car, ending the weekend with a focus on testing and data collection.

A Promising Step in Lancia’s Rally Comeback

For Lancia Corse, the rally was less about chasing victory and more about building confidence with a new car that is still in its development phase. Team officials described the event as a full scale test that provided a large amount of useful information for engineers and drivers alike.

Drivers also emphasized how important the event was for learning how the car behaves on gravel while adapting to different setups and tire choices during competitive stages.

Looking Ahead to the WRC2 Championship

After the encouraging performance in Italy, Lancia Corse is already preparing for its next challenge. The team will continue its program with the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale at the upcoming Croatia Rally, which is part of the WRC2 championship calendar.

With valuable gravel experience now under its belt and a competitive result already achieved, Lancia’s return to rallying continues to gain momentum. The progress made at Rally Città di Foligno suggests the team is heading in the right direction as it prepares for bigger stages in the world of rally competition.