Yohan Rossel’s WRC2 campaign didn’t quite go to plan in 2026.
He helped Lancia Corse HF win the teams’ title alongside team-mate Nikolay Gryazin, but at their core drivers are all selfish: Rossel wanted to be WRC2 champion for himself.
Despite three victories in Croatia, Canarias and last time out in Chile, the 31-year-old Frenchman fell short of that target – largely thanks to errors in Monte Carlo and Portugal and then engine failure in Greece.
What’s clear, however, is that Rossel remains one of the top Rally2 prospects, and he’s desperate to make the step up.
Whether that’s in a Rally1 car or a Rally2 Kit car, Rossel isn’t fussed. But he doesn’t want to spend another season driving a Rally2 machine, having steered them since 2019.
The problem is his Lancia team has no plans to homologate a Kit for the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
Rossel wants to stay with his "family", but he also wants to compete in a top category car
“On my side, it’s clear I want to be in Rally1 with the new regulations or the Rally2 Kit to fight,” Rossel told DirtFish.
“I have just one goal: it’s to be ready at the maximum in Monte Carlo.”
With Stellantis?
“It’s like my family,” Rossel replied, “[but] it depends which vision, which view they have for next year.
“My plan was to be ready in 2027 in the top category, yes.”
M-Sport is the only constructor currently set to homologate a Kit for its Rally2 car – the Ford Fiesta – but there could be Rally1 options available to Rossel; either Project Rally One or a private Toyota with Teo Martín Motorpsort understood to have ordered some.
But Rossel’s ideal would be to make this step up with Lancia and the Stellantis family.
“I hope this victory [in Chile] helped, but let’s see,” he said.
“I hope to be ready with them. But yeah, we need to see the other opportunities also.”
