Rally Japan 2024, Sunday's Report

Yesterday at 06:01 PM

The final day then of the rally and of the season. What would the day hold? Andreas would again open the road throughout the day.

First up was SS17 Nukata 1 – 20.23 km and Andreas made the best of the cleaner road conditions winning the stage from Elfyn and Thierry. However, there was huge drama as Ott and Martin came into the final kilometre of the stage and went wide on a right-hander. The result of this was that they crashed out from the lead of the rally. There were celebrations with the two Hyundai crews that had finished the stage. Of course, there didn't seem to be much disappointment with the situation after the crash their teammates suffered as we saw in the

Next up was SS18 Lake Mikawako 1 – 13.98 km the first run of the later to run power stage. Thierry took the stage win from Andreas and Adrien. The Belgian came to the stop line and was of course delighted to have it confirmed that he'd taken the title. However, it was sad to not hear any acknowledgment of the situation with his teammate crashing out.

Onto SS19 Nukata 2 – 20.23 km and Thierry again was fastest from Seb and Andreas. The Belgian and Frenchman set an identical time on this one. Amazing! The top three remained Elfyn, Seb and Adrien.

The following stage was the third time during the weekend which the 2.15km stadium stage was run and as mentioned previously in my view is not rallying.

We came therefore to the final stage, SS21 Lake Mikawako 2[Power Stage] – 13.98 km. Andreas was the guy setting the rally1 pace and slid wide on a corner leading to some damage to the right-hand front bumper and the headlamp was gone as well. The stage result was making things interesting as the manufacturers championship was up for either Hyundai or Toyota to win. Ultimately Seb would be fastest from Thierry, Elfyn, Takamoto and Andreas. The points scored in the powerstage meant that Toyota would take the title. It was also great to see Elfyn and Scott take victory in this final round.

Let's take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Japan

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

"It's been a very exciting last day of Rally Japan and we're delighted with the final result. It's a very special event as a home rally for the team and I'm naturally very happy to win it again. With it I'm also really happy to contribute towards the manufacturers' title: it means a lot for every member of the team and I'm proud to be a part of it. We maybe didn't always have the performance we wanted during the whole weekend, but we kept trying until the end. I felt for Ott this morning as he had to push, and that opened up the opportunity for us, but it still wasn't easy to bring it home and get the points we needed."

Sébastien Ogier

"I think you could not have written a better finish to the season for us, with everything to play for on the final stage here in Japan. There was a lot of pressure, it was all or nothing in the Power Stage, and of course we are very delighted that we managed to produce this performance in this moment and clinch the title together with the team. Seeing the happy faces of everyone in the team, and of our chairman Morizo-san, is the best feeling and also good reward for all the effort that every team member has made during the season. It's proof again of why we should never give up."

Takamoto Katsuta

"It's been a very tough season but at the end we were able to take back the manufacturers' championship, and it's such a great feeling. I had to be patient this weekend which has not been easy, but I managed to stay on the road and push in the Power Stage. The whole team did a fantastic job, and without their support I would not have been able to do it, so a huge thanks to them and to my team-mates. There were a lot of fans cheering for me this weekend. I'm sorry for them that it was not possible to take a podium myself this time, but thanks to them for their support as well."

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

"What a fantastic day. Words cannot describe how we are feeling. I think we deserved the title after such a challenging year. We had a lot more pressure than we would have liked coming to this final event, but we managed our weekend as best as we could with the problems we had. After the first stage and the titles were confirmed, we were able to relax a bit and push as hard as we could for the manufacturers' fight. We went flat out with nothing to lose – we really wanted to bring home that crown for the team, as they really deserved it. Sadly, it wasn't enough this time but everyone in the team should be incredibly proud of the work they have done this year."

Andreas Mikkelsen

"After we decided to stop yesterday, we wanted to really prepare for today as best as possible. I think we did that well; we were very fast and fighting at the front, showing good speed and having a nice feeling in the car all day. I'm disappointed for the team as they really deserved the manufacturers' title this year. Everyone has done such an amazing job, the car has been working well and very reliable all season, so it is tough to feel this title slip away from us. However, I am so happy for Thierry. I grew up with him and have raced him since we both started out in national rallying. Being good mates as well, I am really emotional seeing him clinch the title. I'm very proud of him."

Ott Tänak

"It is difficult to describe what happened other than complete disaster. We weren't expecting slippery conditions in the corner and as soon as we arrived, the front washed out. It was too far off the road to recover the car. While we are disappointed to end the season this way, we have to recognise what a great season this has been for Thierry. He has been very consistent, managing the pressure well, and he is a worthy champion."

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

"As we expected, it’s been a really challenging rally with really tricky conditions from the beginning. The conditions have been drying up all weekend, so where we have improved the pace we've been fighting for the podium.

"From Saturday morning it’s been a really nice fight with Takamoto Katsuta and Seb Ogier. It's been really nice to end the season with another podium, my first one on Tarmac with the Ford Puma Rally1. It's been a really great season for us, we always want more that's for sure, but still we have some really nice positive results, so it's been good for my comeback to Rally1.

"Thanks to everyone at M-Sport for the season, there's been really great commitment from everybody, and we've had a great feeling from the start. Alex and I really appreciate the hard work from everyone."

Grégoire Munster

"I'm just happy to get back-to-back top five results and finish the season on a positive note. I think our pace on Saturday was really positive with a second-fastest time and two third-fastest times. At some points we struggled with the set-up of the car, but we always reacted quite well and managed to find solutions, so there was a lot of good learning for me as a driver working with engineers.

"It was a good way to finish the year and I just want to thank all the team for their hard work all throughout the season and for their guidance, it has helped me perform and learn a lot as a driver.”

Summary

Well, what an incredible weekend in Japan for the finale of the championship. It had everything, drama for the championship leader, position changes for the top three and a final day drama which led to Toyota taking the manufacturers title.

It was great to see Elfyn and Scott take their ninth victory, just a bit of a sad way for this to happen with Ott and Martin crashing out. However, this is motorsport, and it is often the way things happen.

For Seb and Vincent after their puncture on Friday, they showed amazing pace to take many stage wins and a deserved second overall.

For Adrien and Alex, a fantastic third place was deservedly theirs, their fifth of this season as well. They have a bright future whether they remain at M-Sport or move elsewhere. My personal view is that they should stay at Malcolm's team, and they could take a first victory there.

Finally, a few words for Thierry and Martijn. They have had a great season and undoubtedly deserve the championship. However, the manner of their celebrations following their teammates crashing out and the lack of words from Thierry at the end of the following stage to acknowledge this as well show a driver that is selfish and appears to only care for himself.