Citroën WRC2 ace feels he is now good enough to be fighting with the very best drivers in the very best cars
Photography by Red Bull
Words by Luke Barry & David Evans
WRC2 leader Yohan Rossel says he ‘deserves’ a shot in a Rally1 car.
While it has been possible for drivers to succeed in WRC2 and progress to Rally1 (2023 champion Andreas Mikkelsen signed for Hyundai in 2024 and last year’s victor Sami Pajari is currently driving for Toyota), the category features a bottleneck of talent all widely seen as good enough to drive in the top category.
Rossel is part of that group, but unlike drivers such as Oliver Solberg has never had a shot in a car more capable than Rally2.
The Frenchman however currently leads this year’s WRC2 standings thanks to victories in both Monte Carlo and the Canaries, and a second place in Portugal.
Rossel has never hidden the fact a Rally1 chance is his “dream”, but has he done enough to justify a shot in the top class?
Rossel has never driven a car more capable than his current Citroën C3 Rally2
“Yes. I think I deserve that,” Rossel told DirtFish.
“And my co-driver [Arnaud Dunand] also. We work, I think, like a Rally1 driver. We have the same condition, but for sure, for the moment, I don’t know if I have the level to be a world champion in WRC, but if you don’t have opportunity, you don’t ever know.”
Rossel’s plan is to win every championship on his way up to the top, but feels he’s already shown enough with how many events he’s won (eight).
“My philosophy was, and is, to win every championship before the Rally1,” he explained.
“For sure, I never win the WRC2, but I win a lot of rally, I think. I play for the win on every surface. But for the moment, the situation of the WRC is like that.
“For sure, my target is just to be in Rally1 and my dream. And after, when I am in Rally1, my dream would be to be a world champion. But for the moment, my dream is just to have an opportunity in Rally1.”
But what if Rossel didn’t need to leave Citroën Racing behind in order to realize his dream?
Citroën is never going to build a Rally1 car, but its current C3 Rally2 could be more than capable of fighting at the front of events in 2027.
Rossel added: “For me the plan is just to be as fast as I can with the top guys and for sure it’s not in WRC2, but for the moment I learn a lot and I improve I think also.
“But for sure if you want to be a real world champion you need to be in Rally1,” he reiterated. “The plan now is to be on the top in WRC2, in all the levels, and if you are on top in WRC2, you can be ready for 2027.”
Yes.
He was similarly to the point, so I can be too!
Rossel has proven himself to be one of the fastest, and most complete, drivers in WRC2
It is worth cautioning the same is true of a lot of drivers – not least Solberg who I strongly feel would be super impressive if given the chance again – but Rossel is absolutely among the best of those in the WRC’s premier support category.
He’s proven himself on both surfaces (particularly asphalt) and has made great strides in his English communication in recent years, too.
Perhaps the only question mark would be how he performs in an unfamiliar environment. Rossel has been within the Stellantis / Citroën fold for effectively his entire career, so stepping into Toyota, Hyundai or M-Sport would be a massive move for him.
But as he quite rightly said: “If you don’t have opportunity, you don’t ever know.”
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: WRC, WRC2, Yohan Rossel
Publish Date June 19, 2025 DirtFish
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