Gryazin, Lopez and Jürgenson prepared Croatia well

What better way to prepare for a world round than to compete in an event on a road with characteristics similar to those that will be used by the elite? Registered in WRC since 2021, Croatia (April 18 to 21) offers roads that are both rough and fast on tarmac offering very changeable grip. Although taking place on asphalt, this rally based in Zagreb is not at all an easy meeting to approach and in order to perform well, several crews had the idea of ​​lining up at the start of the Quattro River Rally Karlovac. The first event of the competition in Croatia, the latter included 91 timed km divided into 12 stages.

Enjoying taking part in preparation rallies, Nikolay Gryazin immediately took the lead. Finding himself confronted with Pepe Lopez, his opponent from Monte-Carlo, the Russian, now flying under the Bulgarian flag, ceded command for 2 SS before regaining it and no longer being worried. Widening the gap, the 26-year-old driver was able to get a concrete idea of ​​the behavior of the Citroën C3 Rally2 in these conditions. He won with a 1'13'' lead over the Spaniard who can also be satisfied with this warm-up. It would not be surprising to see the two rivals play leading roles in Zagreb. Winner of Monte-Carlo, Yohan Rossel has been warned. A little further behind, the Finnish Lauri Joona followed the debates from 3^e place, but the latter can also aim for a good result in 10 days.

There were not only competitors in Rally2 at the start of the Quattro River. Several JWRC and Rally3 candidates had made the trip. Second in the category in Sweden for the launch of the championship, Romet Jürgenson is aware that he lacks practice on tarmac. The young Estonian from the FIA ​​Rally Star detection operation put in a solid performance. He settled in 4^e position in SS1 and he never let anyone challenge him for this result. His opponents in JWRC have something to worry about. This will be the case for Kelly Eamonn. The Irishman was more clumsy (spin) and slower (9^e). Ali Türkkan signed an encouraging performance (5^e) unlike Petr Borodin who rolled over and suffered a fire. Finally, preparing to make his debut in WRC3 in Croatia, Frenchman Tristan Charpentier ran a regular race until the 6^e rank.