Citroën will expand its WRC2 challenge to a two-car attack next year, with Yohan Rossel joined by Nikolay Gryazin in the works-backed team run by DG Sport.
Rossel was the only driver to break a Škoda monopoly of victories in WRC2 this year, taking his C3 Rally2 to wins on the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally and Croatia Rally.
He added one more podium finish in a car that was run by PH Sport, leaving him third in the standings behind Andreas Mikkelsen and Gus Greensmith.
The 28-year-old Frenchman also scored two WRC2 victories in 2022, on his way to fourth in the championship, having won WRC3 (for Rally2 cars) a year earlier. He has spent his entire career aboard Citroën and Peugeot machinery, which are part of the Stellantis Group.
Competition in WRC2 is set to be even stronger in 2024, with Toyota entering the fray with its new GR Yaris Rally2, while M-Sport’s Fiesta Rally2 is also likely to be a frontrunner after strong showings at the end of 2023.
Gryazin switches from a Toksport Škoda to join the expanded lineup which aims to meet that challenge. The 26-year-old was fourth in WRC2 this year with four podium finishes.
Didier Clement, sporting director of Stellantis Motorsport Customer Racing said: “We’re all really excited about Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Alexandrov joining us in the WRC2 championship: a crew whose talents and experience are universally acknowledged.
“We also benefit from having Yohan Rossel, a driver who has well and truly risen up through the ranks of the Stellantis Motorsport junior categories.”
Rossel added: “I feel so proud of the confidence that the Stellantis Group has shown in me: next season, it will be 10 years that I have been driving their cars!”
Gryazin will make his debut in the car on this weekend’s Rallye du Dévoluy in France, which Rossel will also contest in preparation for the 2024 season-opening Monte Carlo Rally.
“Joining [Citroën] is really a new chapter in my career,” said Gryazin. “Being in a great environment around me with a great team, it’s really important.
“I really enjoyed when I was doing the test on this car so I’m excited for this season to come. My target will be, of course, to try to win all the races.”
