In recent years, Gryazin has established himself as one of the leading drivers in the WRC2 category of the World Rally Championship. This year, the Russian-born driver is also taking part in selected rounds of the ERC.
The 2025 ERC season began on the asphalt roads surrounding the city of Córdoba, where Gryazin delivered a dominant performance. Now competing under the Bulgarian flag, Gryazin claimed first place with a commanding 46-second margin over French tarmac specialist Yoann Bonato.
“The weekend was quite tough. The conditions were not the easiest on the first day,” said Gryazin.
“The team did a good job and everyone was in a perfect mood. It was keeping me motivated,” he added.
Spanish driver Jose Suarez finished third in the ERC rally. Fourth place went to Italy’s Andrea Mabellini, who set the fastest time on the rally-ending Power Stage and claimed the full five bonus points. Gryazin was 0.4 seconds slower than Mabellini on the Power Stage and thus missed out on the maximum points haul in Córdoba.
Norwegian veteran Mads Østberg endured a bitter end to his rally. His Citroën C3 Rally2 suffered from minor issues throughout the weekend, and on the Power Stage, the car encountered problems with its transmission.
As a result of the time loss, Østberg dropped two positions in the final standings and ended the event in eighth place.
“It’s like that, nothing to do,” Østberg said, clearly disappointed.
Moving ahead of Østberg were Spain’s Pepe López and Sweden’s rising talent Mille Johansson, who was competing in the ERC’s top category for the first time. The 19-year-old impressed by taking seventh place in the tarmac rally.
The next round of the European Rally Championship takes place in Hungary in May.
Rally Sierra Morena results after SS13/13:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | 2:01:49.5 |
| 2. | Yoann Bonato | Citroen | +46.0 |
| 3. | Jose Suarez | Skoda | +1:24.8 |
| 4. | Andrea Mabellini | Skoda | +1:37.6 |
| 5. | Mikolaj Marczyk | Skoda | +2:02.2 |
| 6. | Pepe Lopez | Hyundai | +2:38.6 |
| 7. | Mille Johansson | Skoda | +2:51.1 |
| 8. | Mads Østberg | Citroen | +3:00.1 |
| 9. | Stephane Lefebvre | Hyundai | +3:46.3 |
| 10. | Simon Wagner | Hyundai | +3:50.3 |
