Nikolay Stanislavovich Gryazin (born 7 October 1997) is a Russian
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sports ...
driver currently competing under a neutral flag representing the
Russian Automobile Federation
The Russian Automobile Federation (RAF) (russian: Российская автомобильная федерация) is an FIA-affiliated association of motorists based in Russia founded in 1991.
History
On 11 December 1992, the Fédération In ...
. He is the son of former rally driver
Stanislav Gryazin and the younger brother of rally driver
Vasiliy Gryazin.
Gryazin has four overall victories in the
European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The champions ...
, and he finished second in the
2018 European Rally Championship
The 2018 European Rally Championship was the 66th season of the FIA European Rally Championship, the European continental championship series in rallying. The season was also the sixth following the merge between the European Rally Championship and ...
, winning the ERC Junior U28 title. In 2019, he made his debut in the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
, achieving his first
WRC-2
The FIA WRC2 (previously also known as World Rally Championship 2 and WRC 2), is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the main class and crews usually compete immediately ...
class victory in the
2019 Rally Finland
The 2019 Rally Finland (also known as Neste Rally Finland 2019) was a motor racing event for rally cars held over four days between 1 and 4 August 2019. It marked the sixty-ninth running of Rally Finland and was the ninth round of the 2019 World ...
.
He currently competes for
Toksport World Rally Team driving a
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo in the
World Rally Championship-2
The FIA WRC2 (previously also known as World Rally Championship 2 and WRC 2), is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the main class and crews usually compete immediately ...
, the premier support category of the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
. His current co-driver is fellow Russian
Konstantin Aleksandrov.
Background
A Russian driver with Latvian background, since the beginning of his rallying career, he has been a member of the junior rally program of
Sports Racing Technologies
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
.
Career
Early years
With their backing, he first rose to prominence in 2016, in the junior classes of the
European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The champions ...
, running a full-time campaign in the ERC-3 class with an
R2-spec Peugeot 208. From the start he showed speed, but lacked enough consistency. After four rallies in which he failed to finish, he scored a class win at the Polish round in Rzeszowski and a podium at the Czech Rally Zlín. He finished the season placed 4th in the ERC-3 standings.
He would also place 6th in the Latvian junior championship that year.
2017–2018: ERC & Latvia
In 2017, Gryazin would make the step-up to four-wheel drive machinery, as he would be using the
Škoda Fabia R5
The Škoda Fabia R5 is a rally car built by Škoda Motorsport. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia road car and is built to R5 regulations. It made its competition début in 2015 as a successor to the Škoda Fabia S2000. The car proved to be very ...
for a full-time outright campaign on the European and Latvian Rally Championships, along with select regional rallies across Europe. Gryazin struggled to take off in the European Championship, only managing a best finish of 5th at the
Rallye Açores
The Rallye Açores, known originally as the Volta à Ilha de São Miguel is an international rally racing event based on the Portuguese island of São Miguel Island in the Azores. The event has been a long running round of the European Rally Cham ...
, until he fought
Kalle Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä (; born 1 October 2000 in Jyväskylä) is a Finnish professional rally driver, who competes in the World Rally Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. He is the reigning World Champion. ...
to take an overall win at the season-ending Rally Liepaja, the Latvian round of the ERC. He finished the ERC season 7th place, and came second in the Under-28 trophy. Back in Latvia, he managed an impressive three victories and finished runner-up in the championship. Gryazin coupled these programs with podium finishes and victories in regional rallies at
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, and
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
![Rajd Polski - 2018 Nikolay Gryazin 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Rajd_Polski_-_2018_Nikolay_Gryazin_03.jpg)
The year of 2018 marked a breakout year for the young Russian. In addition to continued full-season efforts in the ERC and Latvia with the Fabia, Gryazin would also tackle the Finnish championship as well. This season would prove to be very successful for Gryazin, as he would take two overall victories in the ERC, one in Poland with a hard battle between himself and
Jari Huttunen
Jari Huttunen (born 28 February 1994) is a Finnish rally driver from Kiuruvesi. He currently competes in the World Rally Championship-2, the premier support category of the World Rally Championship, for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. He gained n ...
, and at Rally Liepaja for the second consecutive year. These victories were obtained on the way to a runner-up finish in the 2018 ERC standings, winning the Under-28 trophy as well. Gryazin finished 3rd in the Latvian championship with three victories, as well as taking home 4th in the Finnish Championship with one win. He took additional podiums and victories in regional rallies at
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
2019–present: World Rally Championship-2
After a big breakthrough year in 2018, it was announced that Nikolay Gryazin and Sports Racing Technologies would make the step up to a full-season campaign in the
World Rally Championship-2
The FIA WRC2 (previously also known as World Rally Championship 2 and WRC 2), is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the main class and crews usually compete immediately ...
in 2019, which would mark his first starts in the World Rally Championship.
After two victories in warm-up rallies in Norway, Gryazin made his WRC debut at
Rally Sweden
The Rally Sweden ( sv, Svenska rallyt), formerly the International Swedish Rally, and later the Uddeholm Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in February in Värmland, Sweden and relocated to Umeå in 2022. First held in 1950, ...
, and he would finish 15th overall, and 5th in the WRC-2 class.
In his next round at
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, he finished 12th overall, and took a 2nd place WRC-2 finish, capitalizing on the attrition of the regular favorites. The rest of his 2019 season campaign is scheduled to be the remaining non-fly away events.
Rally results
Complete WRC results
* Season still in progress.
Complete WRC-2 results
* Season still in progress.
Complete European Rally Championship Results
Notes
References
External links
Nikolay Gryazin eWRC driver profileNikolay Gryazin's Facebook pageNikolay Gryazin's Twitter page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gryazin, Nikolay
1997 births
European Rally Championship drivers
Living people
Russian rally drivers
World Rally Championship drivers
World Rallycross Championship drivers
Hyundai Motorsport drivers
Toksport WRT drivers