Fergus Greensmith returns to WRC2 in a Skoda

While the announcement of his program at the wheel of a Toyota Rally1 was expected and hoped for, the English driver takes everyone on the wrong foot by moving towards WRC2 where he will compete for Toksport.

Published on 05/01/2023 à 16:03

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Fergus Greensmith returns to WRC2 in a Skoda

Gus Greensmith goes down a notch in the WRC pyramid / © DPPI

Usually, it's the goalkeepers who start on the wrong side during penalty sessions. This time, however, it is the former goalkeeper who deceives his people.

A new chapter with @toksportwrt & @MotorsportSkoda 🇧🇷

the first is @RallyMexico 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/kmepPNWjQz

— Gus Greensmith (@GreensmithGus) January 5, 2023

Having revealed last December that he would not continue with M-Sport in 2023, the Mancunian had since remained silent. While watching for his news, everyone WRC was preparing to see him confirm his presence on the Toyota Yaris Rally1 that the TGR has made available for rental. This will ultimately not be the case.

Fergus has in fact decided to go down a category and participate in the WRC2 championship. He joins the already strong ranks (Emil Lindholm, Oliver Solberg, Nikolay Gryazin and Sami Pajari are among them) of the Toksport team.

After 8 years operating Fords, Greensmith will discover the interior of a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. With his debut only scheduled for Mexico, that means he probably doesn't intend to play a full year.

Gus will begin this new chapter during the Rally of Mexico (March 16-19), 3rd round of the 2023 season after Monte-Carlo (January 19-22) and Sweden (February 9-12).

For the 26-year-old Englishman, this will not be a discovery, since he has already competed in WRC2 between 2016 and 2019, winning 2 victories and finishing 3^e in 2019.

Fergus Greensmith has already raced in WRC2, notably in 2019 in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 (Photo Thomas Fenetre / DPPI)

« After 8 years in a Ford, it's time to move on to something new, did he declare. This year the WRC2 championship will be by far the most competitive it has ever been and I am therefore very happy with the program that has been put in place with Toksport and Skoda. What is certain is that I will be driving a lot in 2023. For now, I will focus on testing until our debut in Mexico. »

For the Rally1 category, this is very bad news, because it means that the Toyota Yaris hybrid which is to be rented for 7 or 8 races is unlikely to be operated by someone who already has experience with this type. car.