Year-on-year, the variables have been numerous.
Different cars, different drivers, different narratives, different winners, WRC2 has been as unpredictable as it’s been competitive.
Gus Greensmith has been the constant. Since he returned to the category in 2023, he’s driven the same Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and won rallies but for one reason or another, he has fallen short of the ultimate prize.
But he starts next week’s Safari Rally Kenya chasing a hattrick of wins, and a fourth opening-round victory in WRC2 in succession.
“There’s two things I’m trying to uphold, so yeah, no pressure for this one!” he quips.
In turn, his opening round wins haven’t led to the prize he’s really after: the championship. So maybe if he doesn’t win the Safari again, that’s actually a good omen?
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about that, that’s for sure,” the Briton smiles.
After three years, Greensmith will no longer drive a Škoda
One constant is guaranteed to change however, no matter how 2026 ultimately plays out. Greensmith is talking on the verge of his biggest change in years, as he’s switching his Škoda for a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
“I’ve had three good years with Škoda with some good success,” he tells DirtFish. “I enjoyed my time there and also enjoyed working with people from Škoda. But yeah, I think from pretty much Kenya last year, drivers that had moved to a Toyota had taken quite a big step up in performance.
“The two that stand out to me were Oliver [Solberg] and Jan [Solans]. OK, I think Oliver was finding his stride, but that also applies for people like Kajto [Kajetanowicz], [Roope] Korhonen, quite a few, you see, once they got the hang of it, they’d taken quite a big step up in performance.
“And at that point, then I started thinking that perhaps this Toyota is actually very, very good. Obviously my ambition every year I’ve been there is the championship and we feel that the best place to be is in the Toyota, and that’s the reason for making the switch.”
Greensmith briefly tried the Toyota at the end of 2024, but opted to stick with the Škoda which he felt was “the right car for me to be in”.
However as the year progressed, the former M-Sport driver became increasingly vocal about Škoda’s speed relative to Toyota.
Rally Japan was an epiphany for Greensmith, but the wind had already been blowing in the Toyota direction
“In Japan I was doing some really really good stages,” Greensmith remembers. “Nikolay [Gryazin and I], we were both saying the same thing.
“I was thinking ‘I can’t really do anything more than this anymore. I think we’re both driving pretty well here and we’re both within a couple of tenths every stage and we’re still seconds and seconds back from the Toyotas’.
“I think that kind of made the decision for me in the end. But we’ve been thinking about it for a while.”
Greensmith got his first proper go in his new car in Portugal two weeks ago, where he drove the car for two days.
“I would say it’s a more difficult car to drive than the Škoda,” he shares. “The Škoda is a very good car that anyone can jump into and drive quickly. But you can start to see where the strengths are in the Toyota that have made it such a formidable car for the last 24 months, winning the last two championships.
“I think the main thing I felt was how strong the front of the car is, pulling you back in the line. It’s really a testament to the work that Toyota have done, and I think it reduces the amount of mistakes you make in a rally situation, which then builds up quite a bit.
Greensmith got three days in his new car at the end of February
“If you put the cars head-to-head on a road and went over and over it again, like qualifying, I think it would be extremely similar. But maybe over a full rally, the Toyota’s just got that little bit more in being more suitable for rally conditions.”
Greensmith notes the front-end of the Yaris, but the three-cylinder engine is another key characteristic that some drivers initially struggle to adapt to.
“I think for the first day it takes some adjusting, but then after the first day I think already I was quite in sync with it and I did some work with Toyota just clarifying the best way to use the engine, what the philosophy was,” he says.
“But I think the biggest thing for me was just how strong the front end is,” Greensmith reiterates. “I think I spent a couple of times backwards on the test, (which is not a usual thing for me to do!) as I was trying to find the limits. But after the second day, I understood the car pretty well. And then once you have that confidence with the front end, then it is a very, very lovely thing to be in.
“We’ve got a good base and a very good place to base ourselves from for the year. It’s all seeming pretty good at the moment.”
As with any leading WRC2 contender, Greensmith’s not revealing his full schedule of events – but we do know he’s beginning in Kenya, where he’s got a 100% record in Rally2.
“I think rougher rallies have always been my stronger suit. It suits me better,” he says.
“I think I have good mechanical sympathy and being able to keep the car within its limits at that level. Knowing when to push and when not to push has been one of my stronger attributes. I think for that reason, it’s gone particularly well over the years.
“But again, Kenya’s Kenya. It can take what looks like nothing to completely end your rally. My luck has always held out in Kenya, so if I can hold it off for one more year and do a hat-trick then that would be quite a cool thing to have done.”
Greensmith has tried three times in a Škoda. Will the change to Toyota finally earn him the title?
Next weekend alone, the 29-year-old faces stern opposition from his old home with Andreas Mikkelsen and Robert Virves lined up in a pair of Toksport Škodas, with Fabrizio Zaldivar (Škoda), Romet Jürgenson (M-Sport Ford) and Diego Domínguez (Toyota) set to be in the mix as well.
Another huge battle is anticipated for the year, but Greensmith feels ready to finally crown himself champion.
“I think this year is looking good,” he comments. “Andreas is back, I think Korhonen is going to be very good too. I don’t really know what the Lancias are going to be like, but you can imagine that they’re going to be strong for at least some of the rallies in the year.
“So no, I think it’s a really nice setup and I think it’s nice that there’s a few teams that are realistically there in the fight, which should make it pretty interesting.”
