Rally Japan: Preview TOYOTA GAZOO Racing goes for glory on home roads finale

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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will target a successful finish to the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season on home roads at Rally Japan on November 21-24.

With wins in seven of the 12 rallies held so far in a closely-fought season, TGR-WRT enters the final round with the chance to claim a fourth consecutive manufacturers’ championship title. Aiming to overhaul a difference of 15 points, the team can target another maximum score across the event – similar to the one it achieved two rallies ago in Chile – knowing that such a result would be enough to take the crown.

It will try to repeat the 1-2-3 finish it achieved at last year’s Rally Japan, which was the second edition to be held on narrow and twisting asphalt roads in the forest-covered mountains of the Aichi and Gifu prefectures. In demanding conditions including heavy rain, Elfyn Evans claimed the victory ahead of team-mate Sébastien Ogier and both return this year together with local hero Takamoto Katsuta, who won nine stages in 2023 and heads home off the back of a strong showing at last month’s Central European Rally.

The Toyota Stadium near Nagoya once more hosts the service park as well as three super special stages during the weekend, including Thursday evening’s opening test. Friday is the longest day of the rally with 126 competitive kilometres and starts with the longest stage of the rally, the already-iconic Isegami’s Tunnel (23.67 km). It begins a loop of three stages to be run twice, separated by a tyre-fitting zone at Inabu, with two passes of a super special in Okazaki rounding out the day.

Saturday runs to a similar format with a trio of stages to the north-east, including the new Mount Kasagi test, run twice either side of a tyre-fitting zone at Nakatsugawa Park. The Toyota Stadium super special completes the day after evening service. The final day’s action on Sunday takes place mostly to the south-east, with Nukata and Lake Mikawako both driven twice, but there’s a third and visit to Toyota Stadium between final service and the rally-ending Power Stage at Lake Mikawako.

After making a strong impression across three events with TGR-WRT in Rally1 machinery, Sami Pajari returns to the WRC2 category to complete his campaign aboard a GR Yaris Rally2 car. The Printsport-run driver has the opportunity to claim the title if he can finish in the top two places in the class.

There are a total of eight GR Yaris Rally2 entries in WRC2, including Jan Solans of Teo Martín Motorsport – who won the category in Portugal this year – and the TGR WRC Challenge Program duo of Yuki Yamamoto and Hikaru Kogure in their first appearance on their home round. Chris Ingram, recently crowned British champion together with the MEM team, is also entered along with three regular competitors in the Japanese championship: Heikki Kovalainen (Rally Team Aicello), Norihiko Katsuta (LUCK with ROOKIE Racing) and Fumio Nutahara (Nutahara Rally Team).

Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)

“As one of our home events, Rally Japan is very important for our team and I think it’s going to be a really exciting rally for everyone to follow. All of the main championships are still to be decided, including in WRC2. We still have a chance in the manufacturers’ championship, and we are very motivated and determined to try and win it in Japan. It may take almost a perfect weekend from our side, but we achieved that in Chile which gives us confidence that it’s possible, as does our amazing 1-2-3 finish in Japan last year. It’s a demanding rally for the drivers and at this time of year the weather can be unpredictable, but this also gives us opportunities. Elfyn won there last year and relishes those kinds of conditions, while Seb will want to finish the season on a high and Taka is feeling confident for his home event after his strong finish in Central Europe. Lastly, it has been great to see the performance of the GR Yaris Rally2 car this year, together with that of Sami Pajari, and if he can win the WRC2 title in Japan it would be a fantastic story.”

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