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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.
“It has definitely been tough,” Neuville admitted. “I can’t really find any positives from the day. When the car was working the feeling was good, that’s the only positive.”
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.
“The stages were quite okay,” said Tänak. “There are two stages [tomorrow] that we know, but one is new. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
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 in his Citroën C3.
Sami Pajari’s standing of eighth overall and second in WRC2 in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 puts the young Finn on course to seal the WRC2 title, while Toksport’s Josh McErlean and Hiroki Arai, both driving Škoda Fabia RS machinery, completed the top 10 after almost 130km of intense competition.
Saturday’s penultimate leg features three stages, each run twice, before concluding with another run through the Toyota Stadium super special.
Rally JapanWRC
SEASON 2024SportRallies1SportWorld Rally ChampionshipRalliesWRCSEASON 2024Rally Japan01Friday, November 22, 2024 – 3:30pmFriday, November 22, 2024 – 3:30pm
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Hearing
Case ICA-2024-08: Appeal lodged on behalf of Miguel Gayoso Vazquez against Decision No. 1 dated 30 June 2024 of the Stewards of the event of Matschenberg (Germany), counting towards the 2024 FIA European Autocross Championship.
On 30 June 2024, during the 2024 FIA European Autocross Championship event in Matschenberg (Germany), a collision occurred between Miguel Gayoso Vazquez (driver No. 301) and another competitor (driver No. 306). Despite the incident, Miguel Gayoso Vazquez finished first in the provisional standings. However, at the end of the race, the Race Director issued a black flag to Miguel Gayoso Vazquez for dangerous behaviour, leading to his disqualification (Decision No. 10).
Miguel Gayoso Vazquez subsequently contested Decision No. 10, but his protest was dismissed by the Stewards.
On the same day, Miguel Gayoso Vazquez notified the Stewards his intention to appeal their decision.
On 4 July 2024, the Appellant lodged an appeal against the Stewards’ Decision before the ICA.
Decision of the International Court of Appeal
The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, decided to uphold Decision No. 1 dated 30 June 2024 of the Stewards of the competition held in Matschenberg counting towards the 2024 FIA European Autocross Championship.
The International Court of Appeal was presided over by Mr Luigi FUMAGALLI (Italy), and included, Mr Jean LUISI (France), Mr Ian MILL (United Kingdom) and Mr David Owoicho ADEJO-OGIRI (Nigeria).
Full decision is available here.
FIA European Autocross and Cross Car Championships
ICAInternational Court of Appeal
SEASON 2024SportCircuit1SportFIA European Autocross and Cross Car ChampionshipsCircuitInternational Court of AppealSEASON 2024ICA00Friday, November 22, 2024 – 12:00pmFriday, November 22, 2024 – 12:00pm