Japan (WRC) - 16-19 Nov 23

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing targets home win to seal season of success

Posted: November 16, 2023 1:24 PM

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will seek to wrap up another successful FIA World Rally Championship season with a home win at Rally Japan on November 16-19.

Just as in 2022 when the event made a welcome return to the WRC calendar, TGR-WRT will arrive for the final round on Japanese roads having already secured a hat-trick of championship titles. The team clinched the manufacturers’ title at round 11 of 13 in Chile, before Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen claimed their second successive drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns at last month’s Central European Rally.

Elfyn Evans was a contender for victory in Japan a year ago and arrives in second place in the drivers’ standings, seven points ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). Sébastien Ogier also showed the pace to win in Japan last year, and will aim for the fourth victory of his partial 2023 schedule.

Takamoto Katsuta achieved a memorable podium finish at his home event in 2022 and once again lines up in a fourth GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID with the support of the TGR WRC Challenge Program.

Rally Japan takes place on demanding asphalt roads in the mountains of the Aichi and Gifu prefectures, near the city of Nagoya. Many of these are technical and narrow in nature, twisting through forests with constantly changing grip levels.

The service park will again be located at Toyota Stadium, which this year, in addition to the start and finish ceremonies, will itself host competitive action. This super special will run as the first stage on Thursday evening, and again at the end of Friday and Saturday. Friday is the longest day of the rally at 133.26 competitive kilometres and includes a familiar trio of stages north-east of Toyota City to be run twice either side of mid-day service.

Saturday takes the action south around Okazaki, where two passes of a super special will precede a mid-day tyre fitting zone. The morning’s opening two mountain tests are repeated in the afternoon before a further stage near Shinshiro and the return to Toyota Stadium. Six stages will conclude the rally on Sunday, taking the event north-east to Nakatsugawa where another tyre fitting zone splits two loops of three stages.

Quotes:

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“We are reaching the end of another amazing season for our team. Now that we have secured all three titles once again, the clear target that remains is to win Rally Japan, which is one of two home events for us. Last year, we could get Takamoto onto the podium in front of his home fans which was really nice, but everybody is really motivated to get the win this time. We will have all four drivers there and they don’t really need to worry about the championship anymore, so they are free to fully attack the rally and target the victory. It’s a challenging event because even though it’s a second consecutive rally on asphalt, the roads in Japan are very different to Central Europe. Without the chance to test before the rally, we need to be able to adapt the car setup accordingly.”

Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“I always enjoy going to Japan and it’s going to be nice to go back there having already secured the championship, just as we did last year. The Rally Japan stages are really demanding and the roads maybe don’t suit me as well as on some other asphalt rallies. Last year we didn’t have the best performance there, but I really want to do improve on that this time. It’s a home rally for the team and we all want to do a better result. It’s a busy week to be a Toyota driver, but with no pressure around the championship, I think we can enjoy this rally a bit more and I hope we can do a good result.”

Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“Rally Japan is going to be an important rally for myself and the team, and we obviously want to finish the season on a high. It’s definitely not an easy rally to go to, but we were in contention for the win until quite late on last year and we would really like to put that right. Hopefully we can find that same kind of pace this time around. Even though we know most of the stages from last year, there are still some unknowns because we can’t test on those kind of roads beforehand. The setup is therefore a bit of a guess based on what we had last year and what we’ve learned since, but we will do our best to adapt.”

Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“I’m looking forward to Rally Japan. Even though we have already achieved our main targets for the season as a team, as a Toyota driver I still feel a responsibility to try to deliver a home win in Japan. That would be a very special and important result. Personally, I hope it will be better than our last rally, and hopefully the conditions in Japan will be a bit more enjoyable: I think we saw last year that there are not so many opportunities for cutting, so the conditions can remain a bit more stable for everybody regardless of starting position. Hopefully we can have a good fight and end the season on a high.”

STUNNING SCENES AWAIT M-SPORT ON JAPANESE SEASON FINALE

Posted: November 16, 2023 1:21 PM

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team embarks on the final outing of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season, crossing continents to visit the picturesque stages of Rally Japan.

Japan’s technical Tarmac awaits M-Sport’s crews, with tricky mountain roads and spectacular landscapes in the Aichi and Gifu regions forming the backdrop to the highly-anticipated event. Arguably the most photogenic rally in the WRC calendar this year, Japan’s stunning scenery is only enhanced by the breathtaking autumnal colours found lining the tight and twisty stages.

Although beautiful, the time of year brings an additional challenge to weather conditions. Putting tyre strategy at the centre of the stage, the WRC season’s final event promises tension and excitement as the crews battle it out across 304 competitive kilometres.

Only the second iteration of the event in its new home in Nagoya, fans will be able to enjoy an all new, event-opening super special built specifically for the rally on Thursday inside Toyota Stadium. The typical three days of action will then follow, with tyre-fitting zones on both Saturday and Sunday adding to the demand on crews, cars and tyres alike.

After consecutive podiums on his previous two events, with his epic win in Chile and a well-fought third-overall on the inaugural Central European Rally, Ott Tänak will look to end the season with a hat-trick in Japan. Claiming second overall on last year’s event, the Estonian pairing of Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja will look to end their season with M-Sport and the Puma on a high on the spectacular event surrounded by Japanese fans.

Also back fighting in the Ford Puma Rally1 is Adrien Fourmaux. After delivering some stunning results throughout the 2023 season in a Fiesta Rally2, Fourmaux finds himself back in the top-flight of WRC for this season finale alongside co-driver Alexandre Coria. Off the back of his impressive display in Central Europe, where he stormed to a class win in the RC2 category, the Frenchman is in good stead to return to asphalt to make his Rally Japan debut.

Grégoire Munster returns to the familiar seat of the Ford Fiesta Rally2 after competing in two back-to-back events in the Puma Rally1. The Luxembourg driver will be on the hunt to match his WRC2 class win in Japan last year, hoping to benefit not only from his previous experience here but also his season long experience in both Rally1 and Rally2.

Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:

“It is great to get back to Japan, it’s a very exciting country and a very exciting event. The stages seem even more tricky this year, just adding to the challenge of the rally. It is our last event with Ott and Martin, so I hope they can continue their run of good results with a third podium in a row before we wish them all the best for the future.

“It is great to see Adrien and Alex back in the Puma Hybrid Rally1 car, and although it will be a tricky event to get back into top flight machinery, I am sure they are capable of approaching the rally with a sensible attitude and making the most of their opportunity.

“Gregoire comes to the event in good spirits after the last two events in the Puma Hybrid Rally1 car, and his great result here last year puts him in a good position to capitalise. It would be great to see him and Louis finish the season on a high.”

Ott Tänak said:

“I’m very much looking forward to Japan, I’m a big fan of their cuisine, but also the nature is turning beautiful there at this time of the year and the nights are quite cold. In Japan, there are normally deep forest roads which are very technical and rather slow, but as they are narrow there aren’t really any cuts. We really took the maximum in Central Europe and the target is to finish our season well in Japan.”

Adrien Fourmaux said:

“We have been working hard all season and I discussed with the team about the chance of coming to Japan which I am very grateful for. I spent a few days here already and this country is amazing. It is my first time here and the people are so kind and respectful, and the culture is so interesting. The aim for the rally is to make the most of this opportunity the team has given me. It has been almost a year since I drove a Rally1 car so I need to be careful and ensure I finish every stage and get the most experience.”

Grégoire Munster said:

“I have great memories of Rally Japan last year when I won my category, it was a great event and I have been particularly excited about coming back. I feel like I have improved as a driver a lot since then. I have learned a lot this year driving the Puma Hybrid Rally1 and I increased my confidence in Central Europe. I am aiming for a high result this weekend as I am back in the Fiesta Rally2, I want to repeat my result from last year, but it will not be easy as the competition is very high.”

Entry List

Posted: November 16, 2023 12:31 PM

Japan (WRC) - 16-19 Nov 23 - ENTRY LIST

Rally Guide / Details / Event Website

Posted: November 16, 2023 12:27 PM

Rally Japan