Works support will shift from Citroën to Lancia in 2026 - but the C3 Rally2 will still continue to rally
Photography by Stellantis & Red Bull
Words by Alasdair Lindsay, Head of Digital Strategy
Lancia is expected to replace Citroën as the factory-supported Stellantis brand in WRC2 next year.
A Rally2-spec Ypsilon HF Integrale is being homologated for 2026, while last week Citroën announced it is headed for Formula E.
Stellantis reshuffling the motorsport programs of its brands – Maserati has been dropped from Formula E to make way for Citroën – looks likely to include Lancia, rather than Citroën, getting a works-backed team in WRC2 next season.
PH Sport is currently engaged to run factory-supported C3 Rally2s for brothers Yohan and Léo Rosse, both of whom are currently official Citroën Racing drivers. A similar arrangement but with Lancia Rally2s is expected for 2026.
When asked by DirtFish whether the plan was to migrate factory support from a Citroën team to a Lancia one for 2026, Stellantis head of customer rallying Didier Clément replied: “Nothing is decided yet. But yes, probably.”
The emergence of the Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale does not mean the end of the Citroën C3 Rally2
Clément was keen to stress that the upcoming introduction of the Ypsilon HF Integrale would not mean the end of the road for the C3 Rally2.
“I am pretty sure that some good drivers will continue to have their own program with the C3,” he said.
“We continue to sell parts to support technically this [Citroën] program and in fact the life of the C3 will continue. Of course the support for official drivers like Yohan [Rossel] for example will swap to Lancia, but we definitely continue to technically support the C3. It’s not the end of the life of the C3 at all.”
A vague press release issued by Lancia last week confirming it would produce a new Rally2 car referenced this being “just the beginning”.
Clément and his Stellanis Motorsport colleague Mayeul Tyl, who heads its customer racing sales and servicing department, remained coy on what that press release statement meant and whether it hinted at ambitions beyond Rally2.
When asked directly what the statement hinted at, Tyl replied: “That this is the beginning of the Rally2 project.”
So, nothing more? Only Rally2?
“Let’s see!” Tyl responded.
Clément interjected: “We have no announcement to do. Yes, it’s the beginning. And we’ll see. It’s fully open. But it’s the beginning.”
Words:Alasdair Lindsay
Tags: Citroen, Didier Clement, Lancia, WRC, WRC2
Publish Date September 17, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/09/0ddSunG5-NewLanciaYpsilonRally2HFIntegrale-5-780x520.jpg September 17, 2025
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