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In attendance at the event at Tsunamachi Mitsui Club in Minato-ku, Tokyo, were all three team principals along with Hyundai pairing Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, Petter and Oliver Solberg as well as local hero Takamoto Katsuta and his Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Elfyn Evans.
Prior to being invited to a buffet dinner by Moriyama on behalf of the Japanese government, the drivers and event guests attended a carbon neutral forum, outlining the industry-leading work being done by the WRC in the sustainability sector. Speaking via video, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem highlighted the championship’s environmentally-conscious approach with a switch to hybrid Rally1 vehicles and the usage of fossil-free P1 Performance fuel.
Also speaking was P1’s CEO Martin Popilka who enlightened attendees on the future of synthetic fuels and how they can already be used in combustion vehicles with no change in the set-up to the cars. FORUM8 Rally Japan 2023 Commision’s vice-president Takane Kosaka then spoke of the work being done by the rally to operate in an environmentally sound manner.
“It was a very nice event in Tokyo today and we could see how important is the rally in Japan,” expressed Thierry Neuville. “It was also important to highlight the efforts done in our sport to find environmental solutions for our future mobility.”
Saturday was dedicated to PR activities for the WRC crews with Tokyo-based journalists and broadcasters and concluded in style with a meeting with the fans and an animated electric go-kart race at the City Circuit Tokyo Bay.
Watch the photo gallery here.
Rally JapanWRC
SEASON 2023FIARallies1FIAWorld Rally ChampionshipRalliesWRCSEASON 2023Rally Japan01Saturday, November 11, 2023 – 3:25pmSaturday, November 11, 2023 – 3:25pm
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The two manufacturers are respectively spearheaded by a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and a driver with no less than seven outright Guia Circuit victories.
PRANCING HORSE IN QUEST FOR MAIDEN MACAU PODIUM
Ferrari may be one of the biggest names in motor sport and may hold an incredible record in GT racing, but the Italian supercar manufacturer is still chasing its maiden podium in the FIA GT World Cup.
The Prancing Horse is set for its first FIA GT World Cup outing since 2017, when current IndyCar racer Felix Rosenqvist drove a 488 run by an American outfit Scuderia Corsa.
This year, the brand will have a two-car presence in the world’s most prestigious competition for GT3 machinery through Harmony Racing, the manufacturer’s first GT3 customer team from mainland China.
For Macau’s FIA event, the outfit has secured the services of Ferrari’s long-standing works driver and FIA World Endurance Championship regular Daniel Serra.
The Brazilian will pilot the 296 GT3, which he’s no stranger to, having driven the very same model in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup this year.
Despite only making its race debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, the 296 GT3 has already enjoyed considerable success, winning this year’s Nürburgring 24 Hours in the hands of Frikadelli Racing Team with Earl Bamber (who will represent Ferrari’s archrival Porsche in Macau) as part of the line-up.
“I am thrilled to be going to Macau for the first time to compete in a car like the 296 GT3 on its debut in this unique event,” said Serra, the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Pro class winner, whose main racing programme this year was with Kessel Racing in FIA WEC’s LMGTE Am class.
“It will be a substantial challenge for me and the team. The track is narrow with a very demanding layout and very slow corners. We won’t have much time to test before the start of the race, but we’ll do our best to get a good result in this new experience.”
The second entry from Harmony Racing’s stable is a 488 GT3 Evo 2020 driven by its team principal David Weian Chen. “I’m proud to take Ferrari back to the legendary roads of Macau, not only as team principal but also as a driver,” he said. “We are thrilled to be the team that will drive the car on its debut at the Guia Circuit in Macau.”
MR MACAU TO LEAD FOUR RINGS EFFORT
Audi will be on the lookout for its first FIA GT World Cup triumph since 2016, when Laurens Vanthoor famously won the red-flagged race sliding on the roof of his R8 LMS.
This year, the Four Rings will be represented by a quartet of cars, headlined by Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute duo of Edoardo Mortara and Christopher Haase, and with two other R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2s fielded by FAW Audi Racing Team and Uno Racing Team for silver-rated drivers, Chinese racer Frankie Congfu Cheng and Adderly Fong from Hong Kong respectively.
Nicknamed ‘Mr Macau’, Mortara, should be Audi’s most formidable force, having won on the Guia Circuit an impressive seven times, taking back-to-back victories in Formula 3 in 2009 and ’10, and winning the 2017 FIA GT World Cup for Mercedes. He also scored a hat-trick of GT Cup victories from 2011 to 2013 for Audi, before the event earned FIA World Cup status. The Swiss driver also has an Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup support race victory on his CV. Now back with Audi, Mortara will be seeking yet another Macau triumph.
“I’m very happy that the FIA GT World Cup is back in Macau. It’s a place that I know quite well and where I have great memories [from]. I’m very much looking forward to going back there and racing the best in GT. Hopefully we can do well,” said the 36-year-old.
Haase, Mortara’s team-mate for Macau, will make his third FIA GT World Cup outing, with his best result to date being the fifth place he achieved in 2019 as the highest-ranked car from the manufacturer in that edition.
The FIA GT World Cup gets under way on Thursday, November 16, with two 30-minute free practice sessions. A single qualifying session of the same duration follows on Friday to set the grid for Saturday’s 12-lap Qualification Race at 15:50 local time. The 16-lap FIA GT World Cup starts at 12:05 on Sunday (all times UTC+08:00).
GT World CupAll fia sport
SEASON 2023SportCircuit1SportGT World CupCircuitAll fia sportSEASON 2023GT World Cup01Saturday, November 11, 2023 – 11:00amSaturday, November 11, 2023 – 11:00am
The Macau Grand Prix, which goes to the winner of the Formula 3 event for the 38th time next weekend, boasts an illustrious list of former victors. Ahead of the FIA Formula 3 World Cup from November 16-19, here’s a quick reminder of just some of the drivers to triumph on the Guia Circuit.
1983: Ayrton Senna
Having clinched the British F3 crown in 1983, the late Ayrton Senna became the first winner of the Macau Grand Prix for Formula 3 cars, beating Robert Guerrero and Gerhard Berger to top honours. The Brazilian would start his home grand prix – his debut in the FIA Formula One World Championship – four months and five days later.
1990: Michael Schumacher
Polesitter Mika Häkkinen was heading for Macau glory on aggregate time having won the first leg in 1990. That was until a final lap collision with Michael Schumacher (pictured above) let in the German to take first place with Mika Salo and Eddie Irvine second and third respectively. When Schumacher was injured racing in the 1999 British Grand Prix, Salo was recruited as his Ferrari replacement alongside team-mate Irvine.
1991: David Coulthard
Scottish driver David Coulthard (below) made up for missing out on the British F3 title to Rubens Barrichello in 1991 by triumphing in Macau ahead of a field consisting of, amongst others, Barrichello, Luca Badoer and Christian Fittipaldi, who also graduated to Formula One.
1995: Ralf Schumacher
Michael Schumacher’s young brother Ralf Schumacher, who won six times in Formula One in a grand prix career spanning a decade, was the 1995 Macau winner ahead of Kelvin Burt and Jan Magnussen.
2001: Takuma Sato
The first Japanese to win the Macau Grand Prix, Takuma Sato started 90 Formula One races. His opposition during his triumphant Macau bid included Heikki Kovalainen and Anthony Davidson.
2005: Lucas di Grassi
Lucas di Grassi, the 2016-17 FIA Formula E champion who also raced in Formula One, topped a Macau podium consisting of Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel.
2012 and 2016: António Felíx da Costa
A title winner in the FIA World Endurance Championship and FIA Formula E, António Felíx da Costa beat the likes of Carlos Sainz Jr and Pascal Wehrlein to claim victory in Macau in 2012. The Portuguese driver’s rivals for his second win in 2016 included Lando Norris and George Russell.
Archive photos: GCS
F3 World CupF3
SEASON 2023SportCircuit1SportF3 World CupCircuitF3SEASON 2023F3 World Cup01Saturday, November 11, 2023 – 11:00amSaturday, November 11, 2023 – 10:22am
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The 2023 FIA World Rally Championship reaches its climax in Japan next week with a challenging Tarmac finale in store for the WRC stars and their Rally1 Hybrid cars.
After 12 action-packed rounds, Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen might be out of reach in the race to win the Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ titles respectively, but the chase to finish runner-up is very much alive.Ahead of Forum8 Rally Japan, which hosts the WRC for the eighth time from November 16-19, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin hold second position in the provisional standings for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. However, after winning last month’s Central European Rally, which also used asphalt-only stages, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe are just seven points adrift for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team. Neuville and Wydaeghe were the winners when the WRC returned to Japan last season following a 12-year break. But Evans and Martin led for much of the opening two legs before dropping back due to having to change a wheel. It all points to an exciting battle for the coveted vice-champion honours.M-Sport World Rally Team pair Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja are still in mathematical contention to finish second in the WRC but would need Evans/Martin to not score in Japan and for Neuville/Wydaeghe to add no more than six points to their current total.The 2023 WRC season, the second using hybrid technology and fossil-free fuel, has so far delivered five different winners, while all three manufacturers – Hyundai, M-Sport Ford and Toyota – have celebrated victories. This highlights the wide-open competition being delivered by the Rally1 regulations.Toyota put the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers beyond their rivals’ reach on Rally Chile at the start of October and it’s fitting that the season closes in Japan and on an event based in Toyota City.Pirelli, the WRC’s official tyre partner, will supply its PZero RA WRC hard and soft-compound tyres for Formu8 Rally Japan as well as its Cinturato RWB tyre in the event of wet weather. The hard compound is the first choice for warm and dry weather, while the soft compound is for cool and damp conditions, which are expected during the early morning mountain stages. A maximum of 28 tyres can be used for the event including four for Shakedown.Prior to the rally, a launch event organised by the Forum8 Rally Japan 2023 Commission will be held in Tokyo on Friday, November 10 and will bring together key representatives of the Japanese government and national authorities from the transport, tourism and energy sectors, event organisation, manufacturer teams, WRC Promoter and the FIA. Saturday will be dedicated to activities featuring some of the WRC drivers for Tokyo-based media and fans.
THE ROUTE IN SHORT
Once a gravel event on the island of Hokkaido in the north of Japan, the country’s return to the WRC in 2022 for the first time since 2010 featured an asphalt-only itinerary on the main island of Honshu. Using tight and twisty stages in and around Toyota City in the Aichi prefecture, 40 kilometres from Nagoya, several changes have been made to the route ahead of the 2023 edition. The most notable is the addition of a superspecial stage purpose-built within the Toyota Stadium, which also houses the event service park. The stadium usually hosts football and rugby matches but it will be transformed into spectacular two-at-a-time 2.10-kilometre WRC stage with action taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Leg one proper begins with the iconic Iegami’s Tunnel stage, the rally’s longest at 23.67 kilometres, on Friday and includes a further two stages before service at the Toyota Stadium. The morning’s trio of stages are repeated in the afternoon prior to the rerun of the stadium superspecial. Saturday’s route takes in two full-length stages ahead of two passes of the Okazaki City superspecial, which uses an all-new route through a large park area. After a Tyre Fitting Zone in Okazaki Central Park, the early-morning Nukata Forest and Lake Mikawako stages are repeated followed by the Shinshiro City stage and a third run through Toyota Stadium SSS. Sunday’s deciding leg begins with the first visit to Asahi Kougen, which will become the Wolf Power Stage when it’s repeated at 14:15 local time. The 22.92-kilometre Ena City test, which follows, includes a new starting location that runs adjacent to the Akechi Railway. A Tyre Fitting Zone in Nakatsugawa Park takes place after the Nenoue Kougen stage with the morning stages run for a second time in the afternoon.
FORUM8 RALLY JAPAN DATA
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Stage distance: |
304.12 km |
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Total distance: |
958.95 km |
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Number of stages: |
22 |
RALLY1 HYBRID CONTENDERSToyota Gazoo Racing WRT: The Japanese make’s line-up is unchanged from the Central European Rally with multiple world champion Sébastien Ogier joining Elfyn Evans and double WRC title winner Kalle Rovanperä for the eighth time in 2023. Home hero Takamoto Katsuta will pilot a fourth Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid but won’t be eligible to chase manufacturer points.Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team: Dani Sordo starts his first event on Tarmac since January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo in the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. Esapekka Lappi makes his Rally Japan debut, an event won by team-mate Thierry Neuville in 2022.M-Sport Ford World Rally Team: Adrien Fourmaux is back at Rally1 level for the first time since RallyRACC – Costa Daurada in October 2022 for his maiden Rally Japan. The event marks the completion of Ott Tänak’s second stint as an M-Sport driver before his return to Hyundai for 2024. The Estonian finished runner-up in Japan 12 months ago.
SUPPORTING CATEGORIES
With the FIA WRC2 title provisionally his for 2023, Rally Japan will serve as a high-speed lap of honour for Andreas Mikkelsen (Toksport Škoda Fabia RS Rally2). Team-mate Nikolay Gryazin and Finnish ex-Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen will be among the Norwegian’s opposition in a ten-car WRC2 entry.The FIA WRC2 Challenger crown will be three-time European champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz’s sole focus, while Alexander Villanueva can seal the FIA WRC Masters’ Cup in Japan. Canadian Jason Bailey will chase the win in the WRC3 and Masters Cup class in his Ford Fiesta Rally3.
WRCWRC
SEASON 2023SportRallies1SportWorld Rally ChampionshipRalliesWRCSEASON 2023WRC00Saturday, November 11, 2023 – 9:42amSaturday, November 11, 2023 – 9:42am