Elfyn Evans led Sebastien Ogier in Rally Japan win as Toyota sealed the 2024 manufacturers’ crown and Thierry Neuville is WRC champion.
Friday –
The battle for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title is set for a nail-biting climax as Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tänak leads FORUM8 Rally Japan overnight, with team-mate Thierry Neuville enduring a disastrous Friday that leaves his championship hopes on a knife-edge. The day began with Hyundai on top as Tänak and championship leader Neuville claimed a commanding 1-2 through the opening pair of stages.
However, while Tänak’s speed kept Hyundai’s spirits high, Neuville’s fortunes took a dramatic turn on the third stage when his i20 N Rally1 HYBRID suffered a turbo pressure issue, severely reducing its power. With no midday service and limited spare parts available, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe faced the gruelling task of nursing their car through five more asphalt stages, haemorrhaging over seven minutes and plunging to 15th overall.
Now, with a mountain to climb to return to a point-scoring position, their hopes of securing the six points needed to guarantee themselves a maiden world title rest firmly on Super Sunday. Tänak, meanwhile, delivered a masterclass of speed and precision. With nothing to lose, the Estonian adopted a flat-out approach that not only kept his championship chances alive but also bolstered Hyundai’s bid to fend off Toyota GAZOO Racing in the fight for the manufacturers’ crown. His performance became even more critical after Andreas Mikkelsen crashed his i20 N into a tree on SS5.
The 2019 champion initially faced pressure from Welsh pilot Elfyn Evans, who claimed a slender 0.7sec lead at the halfway point. But after a commanding afternoon from Tänak, including a time 14.4sec faster than Evans’ on Isegami’s Tunnel 2, the Estonian reclaimed the lead and stretched his overnight margin to 20.9sec. Mikkelsen’s off caused a delay and forced the Shinshiro (SS7) test to run under fading light.
This played into the hands of Adrien Fourmaux, whose foresight to fit auxiliary lights on his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID paid dividends. Fourmaux capitalised on Takamoto Katsuta’s visibility struggles to snatch third overall, finishing the day a single tenth ahead of the Japanese driver but trailing Evans by over 1min 30sec.
Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier ended a challenging day in fifth after losing nearly two minutes to a wheel change on SS2. Grégoire Munster followed in sixth with his M-Sport Puma, while WRC2 leader Nikolay Gryazin occupied seventh. Sami Pajari’s standing of eighth overall and second in WRC2 puts the young Finn on course to seal the WRC2 title, while Josh McErlean and Hiroki Arai completed the top 10 after almost 130km of intense competition.
Saturday –
Ott Tänak extended his FORUM8 Rally Japan lead on Saturday, but all eyes were on team-mate Thierry Neuville as he charged up the leaderboard to put himself within touching distance of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship crown. Neuville, often referred to as the WRC’s “nearly-man,” is finally within reach of shaking off that label and claiming his first-ever WRC drivers’ title – a triumph that would also be the first for a Belgian driver in WRC.
After a remarkable recovery from 15th to seventh overall in just seven stages on this penultimate day, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe provisionally banked four crucial points. Following a turbocharger issue that heavily disrupted his Friday, Neuville’s stunning comeback has left him needing just two more points from Super Sunday to seal the deal. With up to 12 points available, the 36-year-old is within striking distance of breaking his five-time runner-up streak and cementing his place as world champion.
While Tänak’s aspirations for a second drivers’ title now look slim, he is carrying Hyundai’s hopes for the manufacturers’ championship. The Estonian began Saturday with a 20.9sec lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, but that margin had decreased to 15.3sec after the morning’s loop. However, a strong afternoon performance on Aichi’s asphalt roads allowed Tänak to re-extend his lead to 38.0sec with five stages remaining.
As things stand, Hyundai heads Toyota by 11 points in the manufacturers’ standings, with everything still to play for as the season nears its conclusion. Like Neuville, eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier was also making moves. A two-minute wheel change on Friday had put the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID driver on the back foot, but he bounced back with a brace of stage wins and three second-fastest times today, climbing from fifth to third.
Ogier passed Toyota GAZOO Racing team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, who spun on SS12, as well as Adrien Fourmaux, to trail team-mate Evans by 1min 32.9sec overnight. After overtaking Katsuta following the Japanese driver’s mistake, Fourmaux was under constant pressure from the local hero and brought his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID to the overnight halt just 6.1sec ahead.
Also showing impressive pace was Puma youngster Grégoire Munster, who described the day as his “best-ever” on Tarmac after clocking a third-fastest time on SS10. Neuville, meanwhile, was more than four minutes behind. Nikolay Gryazin held eighth overall and extended his WRC2 lead to 1min 25.3sec over Sami Pajari. Pajari, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, is poised to clinch both the WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger titles on Sunday, while Hiroki Arai completed the top 10.
Sunday –
After years of near-misses and countless heartbreaks, Thierry Neuville can finally bask in the glory of clinching his maiden FIA World Rally Championship title at FORUM8 Rally Japan, where Toyota GAZOO Racing sealed the manufacturers’ crown after a gripping final day packed with drama. After years of near-misses and countless heartbreaks, Thierry Neuville can finally bask in the glory of his maiden FIA World Rally Championship title at FORUM8 Rally Japan, where Toyota GAZOO Racing sealed the manufacturers’ crown after a gripping final day packed with drama.
Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaghe’s championship was secured in dramatic fashion early on Sunday when team-mate Ott Tänak – the only driver who could challenge him – crashed his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID out of the rally lead on the day’s opening stage. With a 25-point cushion heading into the season finale, Neuville’s title was guaranteed with four stages to spare. The late drama capped off a rollercoaster week for the Belgian, who battled back from 15th place after a turbocharger failure on Friday to finish sixth overall. His historic win is a first not only for him and Wydaeghe, but also their home country of Belgium and the Hyundai Motorsport team after a decade in the WRC.
While Neuville savoured his long-awaited triumph, Tänak’s crash delivered a cruel twist to Hyundai’s manufacturers’ title aspirations. The Korean marque had the upper hand heading into the final day, but the pendulum swung back to Toyota after a tense showdown on the Wolf Power Stage. Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta delivered clutch performances when it mattered most, helping the Toyota brand snatch its eighth WRC manufacturers’ title by a razor-thin margin of three points – the closest since Lancia captured the crown by two points in 1983.
Evans enjoyed a double celebration, inheriting the rally win after Tänak’s retirement and becoming the sixth different winner in a highly competitive season. The Welshman’s triumph also secured him second place in the drivers’ championship — a bittersweet milestone he’s now achieved for the fourth time.
Ogier rounded off a Toyota 1-2, finishing 1min 27.3sec behind his team-mate. The eight-time champion’s rally was marred by a costly wheel change on Friday that dropped him out of contention for the win, but his recovery drive ensured vital points for Toyota in their title fight. Adrien Fourmaux capped a breakthrough season by completing the podium in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally HYBRID. The Frenchman’s consistent form has earned him five podium finishes in 2024 and fifth place in the drivers’ championship — his best season to date.
Fourmaux reached the finish just 7.1sec ahead of Toyota’s Katsuta, who delighted the home crowd by finishing fourth, while Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five in another M-Sport entry. In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin stormed to a dominant category victory and an impressive seventh place overall, but it wasn’t enough to deny Sami Pajari the championship. The Finn’s second-place finish in Japan secured both the WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger titles, capping off a remarkable year for the rising star and co-driver Enni Mälkönen.
Result: https://www.wrc.com/live-timing?liveTimingMenu=overall_livetiming&stage=FINAL&championshipId=245
[The story is as per press release]
