WRC – Producers and team-mates put together to tussle for WRC titles in Japan

The 2024 FIA World Rally Championship title chase will go all the way down to the wire in Japan subsequent week (November 21-24) with two producers – Hyundai and Toyota – and two crews – Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe and Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja – battling for total glory.

After 12 action-packed rounds, Neuville is 25 factors forward of Tänak and might develop into Belgium’s first world champion rally driver by banking six factors on the FORUM8 Rally Japan decider no matter Tänak’s outcome.

Regardless of the end result in occasion base Toyota Metropolis subsequent Sunday afternoon, the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Group will have a good time a maiden Drivers’ title having by no means beforehand succeeded in its pursuit of this coveted crown.

However whereas the Drivers’ championship is balanced in Neuville’s favour forward of the sealed-surface finale, the race to win the celebrated FIA World Rally Championship for Producers is way from settled. 

Hyundai leads the way in which with 526 factors, however Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, the defending champion, is simply 15 factors behind, a deficit that may be cancelled out if the Japanese outfit scores strongly on house soil and Hyundai falters.

Title chase additionally within the supporting classes

The FIA WRC2 and FIA WRC2 Challenger titles are additionally up for grabs in Japan, additional elevating the prospects of a massively thrilling closing occasion of the season.

Oliver Solberg tops the WRC2 standings however with the occasion not a part of his 2024 schedule, Sami Pajari could be champion by ending in second place, a outcome that might even be sufficient for Pajari to win the WRC2 Challenger title, even when Nikolay Gryazin banks a fourth class win of the season. Nevertheless, with a sometimes sturdy competitors anticipated, Pajari can have his work reduce out to assert the factors he wants.

To achieve success on Rally Japan, crews should overcome the problem of twisty and slender mountain roads, velocity variations, changeable climate and chilly temperatures early within the day. 

Tyre compound alternative and technique can be notable components, particularly with dense tree cowl over massive sections of the route making for the prospect of slippery situations. By operating first on the street on leg one, Neuville is about to profit from a cleaner street floor.

Pirelli, which completes its tenure because the official FIA World Rally Championship tyre provider on Rally Japan, will present its P Zero RA tyres in exhausting and comfortable compounds, plus its Cinturato RWB tyre in case of heavy rain. The exhausting compound is the primary alternative and is designed for heat and dry climate, whereas the comfortable model is for cool and damp situations. A most of 28 tyres can be found for every Rally1 entry with 4 put aside for the Kuragaike Park shakedown on Thursday. 

Though rain is forecast early subsequent week, dry and sunny climate is anticipated for the rally with the motion set to happen in ambient temperatures of between six and 18 levels centigrade.

RALLY JAPAN ROUTE IN SHORT

The third Rally Japan to happen on the principle island of Honshu, the 2024 version is as soon as once more primarily based on the Toyota Stadium in Toyota Metropolis, 40 kilometres from Nagoya, with the Tarmac occasion’s 21 phases masking a aggressive distance of 302.59 kilometres within the prefectures of Aichi and Gifu.

Motion begins with the primary of three runs by means of the Toyota Stadium SSS on Thursday November 21 forward of Friday’s route northeast and east of the host metropolis. In retailer are two loops of three phases earlier than a double run by means of the Okazaki superspecial. At 23.67 kilometres, Isegami’s Tunnel is the longest of the 128.15-kilometre opening leg and the complete rally. 

Saturday’s second leg north of Toyota Metropolis contains three phases run twice previous to a second go to to the Toyota Stadium SSS for a complete of 103.87 timed kilometres. 

Sunday’s deciding route east of Toyota Metropolis options 70.57 kilometres towards the clock and is made up of two double-use phases and a 3rd try on the Toyota Stadium SSS with the season-deciding 13.98-kilometre Lake Mikawako Energy Stage resulting from start at 14:15 hours native time.

New for 2024 are the Shinshiro and Mt. Kasagi phases, whereas the Okazaki and Toyota Stadium superspecial layouts have been tweaked with Okazaki operating after darkish for the primary time. Lake Mikawako was beforehand run on leg two however its change to leg three because the Energy Stage coincides with it operating in an other way in comparison with 2023.

A part of the leg one route, the 17.41-kilometre Shinshiro stage makes use of slender roads and contains high-speed opening and shutting sections and a twisty center half. Following the beginning on a gymkhana course, the 16.47-kilometre Mt. Kasagi stage takes to the quick however winding roads of Mount Kasagi. 

RALLY JAPAN DATA

Stage distance: 302.59 km
Whole distance: 1020.03 km
Variety of phases: 21

RALLY1 CONTENDERS

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Group
Needing six factors to win the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Thierry Neuville received the primary version of Rally Japan to happen on the principle island of Honshu in 2022. Estonian Ott Tänak is the one driver who can stop Belgian Neuville from changing into world champion. He completed runner-up to his team-mate in Japan two years in the past and begins the occasion on the again of profitable final month’s Central European Rally. Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen, who received WRC2 in Japan 12 months in the past, continues within the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid.

M-Sport Ford World Rally Group
The Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid squad will as soon as once more depend on Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster. Frenchman Fourmaux made his Rally Japan debut in 2023 however crashed out on the second stage. Munster, in the meantime, received WRC2 on his first Rally Japan begin in 2022 however was unable to complete final 12 months. It will likely be the Luxembourg driver’s first Rally Japan driving a Rally1 automobile.

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Group
Sébastien Ogier, from France, and Briton Elfyn Evans, final 12 months’s Rally Japan winner, head the Toyota problem on an occasion it should win once more to take care of its bid for the FIA World Rally Championship for Producers. Residence hero Takamoto Katsuta competes in a 3rd Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid.

SUPPORTING CATEGORIES

Eighteen crews are eligible for the Rally2-based FIA WRC2 Championship on Rally Japan. They embrace title-chasing Toyota driver Sami Pajari (Printsport Toyota GR Yaris), Citroën-powered Nikolay Gryazin (Citroën C3) and three-time FIA European champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz, the main Škoda Fabia RS contender.

Jan Solans (Toyota GR Yaris) and Gus Greensmith (Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia RS) have received in WRC2 in 2024, whereas Chris Ingram returns to the championship in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 having develop into British champion final month.

Toyota improvement drivers Yuki Yamamoto and Hikaru Kogure are additionally in rivalry for WRC2 honours as is ex-Components 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen (Toyota Yaris GR) and Motorsport Eire Rally Academy-backed Josh McErlean (Škoda Fabia RS).

Double Manufacturing world champion Toshi Arai (Subaru WRX S4) and 1994 total world title winner Didier Auriol are among the many non-priority drivers on the Rally Japan entry with 66-year-old Auriol getting ready to begin his first WRC occasion since 2005 in a Toyota Yaris GR, with codriver Denis Giraudet at his facet.

Arai’s son Hiroki is entered for WRC2 factors, as is Takamoto Katsuta’s father Norihiko.

Allan Harryman will go from co-driving Nikos Pavlidis on the ultimate spherical of the 2024 FIA European Historic Rally Championship in Greece earlier this month to partnering George Vasilakis within the FIA WRC Masters’ Cup.

Diego Domińguez will additional have a good time profitable the FIA WRC3 title earlier this season by making his Rally Japan debut in a Ford Fiesta Rally3. Ghjuvanni Rossi completes the WRC3 line-up.

MEDIA INFORMATION

Media accreditation

Media accreditation for FORUM8 Rally Japan should be collected in particular person by accredited cross holders from the Accreditation Desk positioned as follows:

Media Middle – B1 ground – room 201 – Toyota Stadium, Rally Japan Service Park, 7-2 Sengoku-cho, Toyota Metropolis, Aichi 471-0016.

Media accreditation opening hours:
Tuesday 19 November: 14:00 – 18:00 hrs
Wednesday 20 November: 08:00 – 18:00 hrs
Thursday 21 November: 08:00 – 18:00 hrs
Friday 22 November: upon request solely to media-rj@rally-japan.jp

Media Centre opening hours:
Tuesday 19 November: 14:00 – 18:00 hrs
Wednesday 20 November: 08:00 – 20:00 hrs
Thursday 21 November: 08:00 hrs – till final media consultant leaves
Friday 22 November: 06:30 hrs – till final media consultant leaves
Saturday 23 November: 06:00 hrs – till final media consultant leaves
Sunday 24 November: 06:30 hrs – till final media consultant leaves

Media actions and alternatives 

(All occasions native, approximate and topic to vary)

Media zones

Media Zones attended by all drivers and chosen crew representatives will function as follows: 
TC4A, TC9A, TC12A, TC15A, TC19A and TC21A.

FIA Publish-event Press Convention, Toyota Stadium (podium ramp), Sunday 24 November, 16:30

•    Drivers, codrivers and crew representatives awarded with an FIA title for 2024
•    Prime 3 drivers in total occasion classification, profitable co-driver and rep. of profitable producer
•    Occasion profitable FIA WRC2, WRC2 Challenger, WRC3, WRC Masters Cup drivers

The FIA WRC Meet the Crews stay interviews and FIA Publish-event Press Convention can be broadcast on FIA and WRC social media channels.

RALLY JAPAN MANUFACTURER ENTRIES

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2024 CLASSIFICATION

The provisional classifications following spherical 12 of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship can be found right here.

RALLY JAPAN 2023 RESULTS

RALLY JAPAN WINNERS