Oliver Solberg switched his Škoda for a Toyota in pursuit of WRC2 glory in 2025, and old team-mate Gus Greensmith almost did the same.
Greensmith has stuck with the Fabia RS Rally2 for a third successive season in the World Rally Championship’s premier support category, but was intrigued to try the opposition.
“I did try the Toyota [at the] end of last year,” Greensmith told DirtFish, “and the Toyota is a very good car and I think it has massive potential as well, which will be a big thing for later in the year.
“But for where my championship focus is, I still think that the Škoda is the right car for me to be in.”
The start point of Greensmith’s championship campaign is yet to be determined, as he competed in Monte Carlo but not for points, and won’t be in Sweden next week.
“I’ll be in Kenya,” he said, “but I’m not sure if I’m scoring points yet.”
However the one change Greensmith has made is in his team. After two years with Toksport, the former M-Sport Rally1 driver has joined RaceSeven for 2025.
Greensmith hasn't changed car for 2025, but he has changed team
That means he has effectively swapped with Robert Virves who has joined Toksport, alongside other drivers Fabrizio Zaldivar and 2022 WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm who confirmed he’ll be rejoining the outfit from Hyundai earlier this week.
“Obviously the championship is the aim for this year,” Greensmith explained. “There are some very good drivers: Yohan [Rossel], Oliver, Nikolay [Gryazin]’s really made some progress over the last part of last year so [we’re up against] some very, very solid drivers.
“But from my side, one of the reasons for changing teams was to help me and have more focus on only me. And yeah, I really think that we are in a good position but there is still a lot to work on before we can get to that point.”
Greensmith said he already noticed the benefit of being the focal point of a team, rather than one of several drivers like he was at Toksport.
“It is nice. Obviously you can bring everyone around you and try and create a real proper camaraderie within the team which has been really nice,” he added.
“I have enjoyed that, that’s been the biggest difference for me, but yeah we’re still very early in the season and we’ll have to see around September-ish time where we’re at.”
Is the Toyota better than the Škoda?
Solberg has traded a Fabia for a Yaris in 2025, and is impressed by its potential
While Greensmith didn’t commit to the switch, Solberg has – and got his first taste of the GR Yaris Rally2 in competition at the Monte before his WRC2 campaign begins in Sweden.
Undeniably it’s a move with an eye on the future and not just the state of play in the Rally2 class, but how does the Yaris feel compared to the Fabia?
“For sure, chassis wise it feels very much more similar to maybe a Volkswagen [Polo] which I’ve been driving before and is my favorite car,” Solberg told DirtFish.
“I feel we have good potential and the car has amazing potential to be on the level, and in many areas it’s already much faster and [gives me a] good feeling than what I’ve used before.
“But in some areas definitely we need to work also to get it more comfortable and better also. So for sure there’s work to do, but I feel the potential and the way we’re working can be very, very good.”
Like Greensmith, Solberg’s goal for 2025 is obvious.
“For sure I mean the goal is for the future is to come into WRC, but if this year can be a stepping stone and a build up for the future and… you know the plan is always to win everything you do and do the best you can,” he said.
“I feel last year I should have kind of won it, you know, with a lot of things happening and going on. But in the end I was very happy with my season and I’ll just try to do the same and do my best and then we will see.”
