2024 FORUM8 Rally Japan – Friday Report
The fight for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title will reach its peak with Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tänak leading FORUM8 Rally Japan overnight while team-mate Thierry Neuville endured a miserable Friday that left his championship hopes on a knife-edge.
The day started with Hyundai taking first place after Tänak and championship leaders Neuville won 1-2 in the opening stage. But while Tänak’s pace kept Hyundai’s morale high, Neuville’s fortunes took a dramatic turn in stage 3 when his i20 N Rally1 Hybrid suffered turbo pressure issues and power was severely reduced.
With no midday service and limited spare parts, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe faced the daunting task of getting the car through five more asphalt sections, bleeding out over seven minutes. Dropped to 15th place overall. They now have a mountain to climb to get back into points position, and their hopes of securing the six points needed to guarantee a first world title remain firmly in place come Super Sunday.
“It was definitely difficult,” Neuville admit. “I couldn’t find anything positive about that day. The car felt good when it was running and that was the only positive thing.”
Tänak, meanwhile, delivered a masterclass in speed and precision. With nothing to lose, the Estonian has adopted a decisive approach that will not only preserve his championship chances but also strengthen Hyundai’s efforts to hold off Toyota GAZOO Racing in the fight for the manufacturer’s crown. Andreas Mikkelsen’s performance became even more critical after he crashed his i20 N into a tree in SS5.
The 2019 champion initially faced pressure from Welsh pilot Elfyn Evans, who claimed a slim 0.7s lead at the halfway mark. But after Tänak’s impressive afternoon, which included a time 14.4 seconds faster than Evans in Isegami’s Tunnel 2, the Estonian regained the lead and extended his overnight margin to 20.9 seconds.
“The stage was pretty good.” said tanak. “There are two steps. [tomorrow] We know, but one is new. “I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead,” he said.
Mikkelsen’s departure caused delays and the Shinshiro (SS7) test was run under fading light. This was in the hands of Adrien Fourmaux, who had the foresight to fit auxiliary lighting to his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID.
Fourmaux, taking advantage of Takamoto Katsuta’s visibility, struggled to take third place overall, finishing the day a tenth ahead of the Japanese driver but over a minute and a half behind Evans.
Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier ended a difficult day in fifth place after losing almost two minutes in SS2 due to a wheel change. Grégoire Munster finished sixth in his M-Sport Puma, while WRC2 leader Nikolay Gryazin took seventh in his Citroën C3.
Sami Pajari finished 8th overall and 2nd in WRC2 in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, helping the young Finn take the WRC2 title, while Toksport’s Josh McErlean and Hiroki Arai both finished top after almost 130km in their Škoda Fabia RS machines. Ranked in the top 10. There is fierce competition.
Saturday’s second leg consists of three stages, each run twice, concluding with another run through the Toyota Stadium Super Special.
