Now it’s official: one year after the announcement of the return to racing with the Ypsilon Rally4 HF, protagonist of a single-make trophy based on the races of the Italian Absolute Rally Sparco Championship, Lancia is back in the top international championship. The first event will be the 2026 Monte Carlo Rally
From the Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF IntegraleFrom a technical point of view, little is known yet. I suspect that Stellantis planned a grand return in World Rally Wrc for the brands Italian, once the first images of the asphalt tests came out, they became increasingly concrete. So much so that recently 72nd Sanremo Rally – last appointment of Sparco Absolute Italian Rally Championship – Lance he said it clearly: “Let’s go and compete in the World Cup”. Wrc2of course: while waiting for the regulatory developments that will come into force in 2027, there was no better investment to make than focusing on a Rally2both on the international competition side with an official team and on the sales side to teams and private individuals. It is the right key in a moment of extreme regulatory uncertainty.
Lancia in the World Rally Championship
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After 11 constructors’ titles, 5 drivers and over 30 years of abstinence, Lancia returns to compete in the World Rally Championship, starting next season. There Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale will obtain FIA approval January 1, 2026in order to be ready for the first seasonal event, that of Monte Carlo Rally (January 22-25). A relay race is planned at home Stellantis with a brand Citroën ready to debut in the world championship of Formula E (in the place of Maseratiand alongside DS). It remains to be seen who will be behind the wheel of the wheeled Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale Hankook (sole supplier of the championship for four-wheel drive cars), with a couple of Italian candidates (the four-time Italian champion Andrea Crugnola took part in the test phase) and as many French (in addition to the expert Yoann BonatoAlso Yohan Rosselprotagonist in eight events of the world series with a C3 Rally2, held the role of tester and is among the favorites for a seat next season). Detailed programs will be revealed around mid-November at the headquarters of Satoryhome of Stellantis Motorsports. Friday 19 December 2025 Registration for the Monegasque race is expected to close, while the engines will officially start on January 22, 2026 with the official photo and the first three special stages. The car, meanwhile, is completing tests on both asphalt and dirt in view of homologation and the new season. The Lancia technicians say they are confident, the first impressions of the test drivers are positive and this bodes well for the future. Not only on the performance side, but also on sales, because as he underlined Jean–Philippe Learnedhead of Stellantis&You during his brief speech during the press conference, “motorsport activity is a business model. Not a waste of money, but an investment, for the product and beyond”. Look, in the same category, at the Customer Racing model created by Škoda with the Fabia – first R5, then Rally 2 Evo, now RS Rally2 – with over 700 units delivered. Furthermore, the presence of at least one Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale in the 2026 Italian Absolute Rally Sparco Championship could act as a driving force for this philosophy.
Rally4 and the trophy
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The official confirmation of what was described above arrived on the occasion of the sixth and final race of Lancia Trophy 2025in the presence of Miki Biasiontwice world rally champion with the Turin company, of the CEO of Lancia, Luca Napolitano (“It’s a natural return for the most successful brand ever in rallying, which looks to the future with the same passion and determination that made it a global icon” his words), of Eugenio Franzettidirector of Lancia Corse and the DS brand in the world championship of Formula E (also in 2026 he is expected to be personally present in all the stages of the world series reserved for electric single-seaters and in the various rounds of the Italian Absolute Rally Sparco Championship, also with a view to the double commitment with the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale and with the Trophy with the Rally4, to which will be added participation in some races of the WRC World Championship), of the director of Stellantis Motorsport, Jean–Marc Finotand the aforementioned Jean–Philippe Learnedresponsible for Stellantis &You and the Maserati brand. Here we not only witnessed the celebration of Gianandrea Pisani e And Nicola Biagi as winners of the CIAR Sparco Two Wheel Drive and of the Trophy itself (with a total prize pool of 360,000 euros), but also the triumph, for the Italian brand under the Stellantis group, in the Two Wheel Drive Manufacturers’ Championship. A tricolor piece, or rather two, which had been missing since 1993.
Towards 2026 (with also the rally6)
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The program with the Ypsilon Rally4 HF will see Gianandrea Pisani compete in the FIA ERC European championship next season, as promised at the beginning of the year, while the RC4N group car – after over 100 units sold – will continue to be a protagonist on a national level. For newcomers to the discipline, Lancia will also offer the Ypsilon HF Racing (Rally6 category). It remains to be seen whether it has international FIA or national ACI approval, but the fact remains that it will represent the starting point for those who dream of racing at low costs: 145 HPmanual gearbox, non-hydraulic handbrake, road tires and budget required for management and rent reduced to the bone.
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