The 2024 FIA World Rally Championship reaches its climax this week, with Hyundai Motorsport team-mates Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak battling head-to-head for the coveted crown at FORUM8 Rally Japan (21 – 24 November).
Following a gripping season which has delivered five different winners across 12 rallies so far, Neuville arrives in Toyota City holding a 25-point advantage over his Estonian colleague.
For Neuville, a maiden WRC title for both him and Belgium is tantalisingly close after five runner-up finishes in previous campaigns. Tänak, the 2019 champion, faces a tougher challenge – requiring a flawless weekend and for Neuville to falter if he is to secure a second crown.
Neuville has led the series since his round one triumph at Rallye Monte-Carlo in January and can clinch the title by scoring six points in Japan, regardless of Tänak’s result. While he holds the upper hand in the drivers’ series battle, the manufacturers’ championship remains fiercely contested. Hyundai leads by just 15 points from defending champions Toyota GAZOO Racing, but a strong home performance could see the Japanese team overturn that deficit.
“In Japan, the weather and the roads make the biggest difference,” said Neuville, winner of this round in 2022. “They are super dirty when it’s cold, and the leaves on the road make grip very challenging. There are also some new stages, so altogether it’s going to be a very challenging event.
“We have [had] no testing for Japan, so all of our information has been carried over from Central European Rally. We have plenty of the feedback from previous years here, so we can predict the starting set-up now before doing the fine tuning when we arrive in Japan.”
Hyundai fields three i20 N Rally1 HYBRID cars for Neuville, Tänak and Andreas Mikkelsen, while Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID line-up includes eight-time WRC champion Sébastien Ogier, local star Takamoto Katsuta and last year’s Japan winner Elfyn Evans.
“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,” said Toyota’s team principal Jari-Matti Latvala. “We still have a chance in the manufacturers’ championship, and we are very motivated and determined to try and win it in Japan.”
British outfit M-Sport Ford will also be in action with two Puma Rally1 HYBRIDs driven by Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster, as speculation swirls around Fourmaux’s future amid rumours of a potential team switch for 2025.
The FIA WRC2 and FIA WRC2 Challenger titles are also up for grabs in Japan, further raising the prospects of a hugely exciting final event of the season. Sami Pajari, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, is currently the favourite to claim both.
The rally begins bat Toyota Stadium on Thursday before tackling 21 special stages covering more than 300km. The action concludes on Sunday afternoon, with the championship battles set to deliver high drama until the very final stage.
