We are weeks away from the start of the 2024 WRC season. Here are my predictions for the WRC2 class.
Solberg Wins The Championship
Oliver Solberg was arguably the fastest driver in the WRC2 championship. This season he will likely be the fastest again. All Solberg needs to find is the consistency to win. Solberg will make his season debut at the Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. However, he won’t be scoring points. Solberg’s first points-scoring round will likely be his home event of Rally Sweden. An event that he won last season.
Greensmith Has Another Strong Season
Gus Greensmith finished second in the WRC2 championship last season. He was one of the only drivers to win multiple events last season. Greensmith is expected to have another strong season this year. However, I don’t have him winning the championship this year. For me, the championship is between him, Solberg and Pajari. However, as the previous section says, I have Solberg winning the championship. Greensmith will come close once again but will fall short again.
Pajari Wins The Challenger Championship
Sami Pajari finished third in the WRC2 challenger championship last season. However, Pajari would fall just eight points short of winning the championship. The 2024 WRC season will be Pajari’s second full season in the WRC2 championship. Last year he drove a Skoda Fabia Rally2. This season he will drive a brand new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. This will provide Pajari with a slight challenge to start the year. However, Pajari will use the Rallye Monte-Carlo as an event to get used to the car. He, much like Solberg, won’t be scoring points at the event, and will likely use his first point-scoring round at Rally Sweden next month.
Loubet Shines
Pierre-Louis Loubet has been moved down to the WRC2 category for the 2024 WRC season. This comes after a disappointing 2023 season. It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise to me if Loubet had a strong showing in the WRC2 championship this season. I don’t have him contending for the championship. However, I have him finishing fourth in the championship this season. Loubet will not contest the Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. Loubet has previously won at the WRC2 level. However, that was some years ago.
Lindholm Bounces Back
Emil Lindholm had a disappointing 2023 season after winning the WRC2 championship in 2022. Lindholm spent part of the year driving a Skoda under Toksport, and the other part driving a Hyundai under Hyundai. Lindholm showed pace in the i20 Rally2. However, he didn’t win any events in the car. I have Lindholm finishing fifth in the championship this season. Which is four spots above where he finished last year.
Citroen Has A Down Year
Citroen was the only team besides Skoda to win an event in the WRC2 championship. However, I don’t see them doing as well this year. Last year Yohan Rossel finished third in the championship. I can’t see that happening again. As Toyota and Skoda are projected to dominate the class. A Citroen will still likely top a couple of events, but I can’t see either Rossel or Gryazin finishing high in the championship this season.
M-Sport Goes Winless Again
M-Sport was the only team besides Volkswagen to not win an event in the WRC2 class last season. A team of Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster just didn’t get it done in the class. Fourmaux led Rally Italia Sardegna heading into the Powerstage. However, the slick conditions resulted in Fourmaux going off the road and ending his event. Who will drive for M-Sport in the class is unknown at this time. Which makes predicting this slightly harder. However, I’m assuming they won’t have a contender to win at events.