- Delta Rally Team’s Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti celebrate maiden WRC2 win after leaders Emil Lindholm/Reeta Hämäläinen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) retire
- Czech veterans Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) also climb onto the WRC2 podium of the FIA World Rally Championship’s sixth round
- Five Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crews finish inside the WRC2 top 10
Olbia (ITA), 9 June 2025 – The final leg of Rally Italia Sardegna saw a dramatic shift in the WRC2 category. With the top three in the category running into trouble almost simultaneously, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew of Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti seized their opportunity. The Italian pairing secured its first WRC2 victory with a lead of just 5.8 seconds.
Emil Lindholm, the WRC2 champion from 2022, and co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen dominated the category from the start. The Finnish Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 went into the WRC2 lead already after the first stage. With four fastest WRC2 times across Friday’s six stages, the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew reached the evening service with a lead of 16.3 seconds. After the opening leg, Czech pairing Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst followed in third position with Prokop’s own Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Finnish duo Lauri Joona/Samu Vaaleri was next with MS Munaretto’s car. Eventual WRC2 winners Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti held P8 at that point.
On Saturday, Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen gradually extended their lead. Even a malfunctioning intercom system couldn’t slow the pair down – they simply switched to the backup system mid-stage. “Reeta has a strong voice, but not strong enough for the in-car noise on a gravel stage,” Emil Lindholm joked. In the evening, the WRC2 leaderboard listed Lindholm/Hämäläinen on top, more than one minute ahead of Lauri Joona/Samu Vaaleri. Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand were out of the running for the WRC2 victory by that point due to a technical issue. Meanwhile, Martin Prokop and Michal Ernst lost time after damaging the radiator of their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and dropped to fourth position. Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti followed one spot down.
Lindholm/Hämäläinen were apparently on course for their first Rally2 victory in over a year when disaster struck in stage 14. After a crest, their Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 overshot a corner and got beached in the bushes. Although their car sustained only minor damage, it was game over for them.
Another Finnish Škoda pairing inherited the WRC2 top spot. With only two stages to go, Lauri Joona and co-driver Samu Vaaleri led Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak by a little more than ten seconds. But that was not the end of the story. One stage later, both these crews collected punctures. The shock new leaders were Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti, separated by less than five seconds from Kajetanowicz/Szczepaniak and Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst.
On the final power stage, the Delta Rally Team Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 spun, however, Roberto Daprà posted an even faster time than his two pursuers: “I am really proud of myself and for all of my team that we won our first rally here – it’s amazing,” the 24-year-old ACI Italia supported youngster beamed. “When things go well and you have good people around you, if the result needs to come it will come itself. That’s what happened here.”
Martin Prokop and Michal Ernst completed the WRC2 podium as third. Lauri Joona and co driver Samu Vaaleri eventually came home sixth in the category. Also inside the WRC2 top 10 finished Škoda crews Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo from Estonia in P7 and Italians Giovanni Trentin/Pietro Elia Ometto in P9.
WRC2 winners Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti took first position in the WRC2 Challenger classification as well. Victory in the WRC Masters Cup also went to a Škoda crew: The biggest trophies were handed to Mexican Miguel Granados und Spanish co-driver Marc Martí.
After the rough gravel stages of Sardinia, another country with notoriously car-braking roads is waiting for the WRC2 crews. Next round of the FIA World Rally Championship is Acropolis Rally Greece, which takes place from 26th to 29th June 2025.
Number of the rally: 6
Škoda crew Emil Lindholm/Reeta Hämäläinen posted more fastest stage times than any other WRC2 competitor. The Finns won six of the rally’s 16 stages.
Rally Italia Sardegna (ITA), 6-8 June 2025, Result WRC2
1 Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (ITA/ITA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, 3:46:39.8 hours
2 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +5.8 seconds
3 Martin Prokop/Michal Ernst (CZE/CZE), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +10.9 seconds
4 Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (ESP/ESP), Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, +45.3 seconds
5 Romet Jürgenson/Siim Oja (EST/EST), Ford Fiesta Rally2, +53.5 seconds
6 Lauri Joona/Samu Vaaleri (FIN/FIN), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +58.5 seconds
Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 6 of 14 rallies)
1 Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 67 points
2 Oliver Solberg (SWE), Toyota, 60 points
3 Roberto Daprà (ITA), Škoda, 49 points
4 Gus Greensmith (GBR), Škoda, 40 points