GRYAZIN’S MUTED WRC2 CELEBRATIONS
Russian Nikolay Gryazin was forced to celebrate his
WRC2 victory on Rally Italy last weekend in silence.
Gryazin and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov have registered as Authorised Neutral Athletes to allow them to compete on FIA World championship events in line with measures taken in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although Gryazin lives in France having been based in Latvia in recent years, FIA rules mean he must essentially surrender his Russian identity in order to compete on events sanctioned by the world governing body.
Under the Authorised Neutral Athlete guidelines, there is to be no Russian flag flown or national anthem played at events such as World championship rallies.
Following his victory, Gryazin said: “I feel quite good. It was a really hot race. It was really tough. After Portugal, it was almost like two weeks in a row driving. We had almost no issues with the car, no punctures and the team was in good shape.”
Gryazin is set to skip the upcoming WRC rounds in Kenya and Estonia but is planning a Rally Finland appearance in August.