Category: Tin Top Racing

The final day then of this event and also the season. What an incredible rally we have been treated to and just six stages left to complete. Once again Thierry would open the road throughout the day.

First up was SS17 Asahi Kougen 1 – 7.52 km, the stage that would be the power stage later. Thierry would set the fastest time from Takamoto and Esapekka. Elfyn set an identical time to the Finn, the Welshman keeping his eye in. Ott was seventh meaning that Takamoto continued to close on the Puma driver, the gap now just 9.6 seconds. There was no change in WRC2 as well, with Andreas still leading Nikolay and Kajetan.

Into SS18 Ena City 1 – 22.92 km and with snow lining the road had Thierry made the right decision to take five dry tyres? Well, clearly no doubt as he took a second stage win of the day from Takamoto and Elfyn. The Japanese driver took the gap down to just four tenths of a second as he eyed up fifth placed Ott.

The final stage before the tyre fitting zone, SS19 Nenoue Kougen 1 – 11.60 km and Takamoto was fastest and passed Ott for fifth place. In addition, he had also reduced the gap to EP, now just 16.2 seconds separating the two drivers for fourth place overall. Thierry and Esapekka were second and third in the stage.

After the tyre changing zone, next up was SS20 Ena City 2 – 22.92 km and Thierry was again fastest from his teammate EP, whilst Ott was third. Esapekka had a great stage in fact as following the tyre fitting zone some changes made to his car allowed him to be more comfortable and to push a bit more. Takamoto meanwhile was now not so comfortable and the gap that he had closed had now widened out again. However, he still held a good lead over Ott. In WRC2 Gregoire, who was not nominated for points in the category slid off the road.

Into the penultimate stage then, SS21 Nenoue Kougen 2 – 11.60 km and Takamoto was back to stage winning pace with Thierry and Ott second and third fastest respectively. In WRC2, Nikolay was setting the pace in the category from Andreas, whilst Kajetan was third.

The final stage then, SS22 Asahi Kougen 2[Power Stage] – 7.52 km and the top five were, Thierry, Ott, Esapekka, Takamoto and Seb. They took the points for the top five positions in the stage. Elfyn and Scott crossed the line and took their third win of the year, a brilliant result for the pair in their Toyota. This result secured second in the championship standings.

Let’s take a look at final results and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Rally Japan

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s really nice to be on the top step of the podium again and even more so when it’s a 1-2-3 for the team. It’s an amazing result and we could not have asked for a much better event at home for Toyota, so I’m really pleased. It’s been a long and difficult weekend. On Friday we had exceptionally tough conditions which we came out of with quite a margin. Since then, it’s been a challenge in a different way, trying to manage the gap rather than push flat-out, but I’m very happy to get there in the end. Massive congratulations to the team: it’s been an incredible season; the car has been great and I’m really proud and happy for everyone.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It feels great to be a part of this result. I really wanted to come here and help the team secure a dream result. I think the main target was to just take the victory, so to bring a full podium is fantastic and it’s maybe even more than a dream result. The conditions brought some big surprises during the whole weekend. We expected the difficult start on Friday and a lot of drivers made mistakes or lost time, including us. Then we realised we were in a strong position to deliver the 1-2-3 for the team and my focus was on bringing that result home, but it’s never easy in slippery and tricky conditions like this. I hope the whole team enjoys this moment: they really deserve it so thank you to them!”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s an amazing feeling right now. This is a dream result for the team, to have three cars on the podium in Japan. It’s quite amazing that we could do this in such difficult conditions this weekend. I think the team proved once again that we can be consistent and fast. I’m also really proud of Taka as he was driving so well, and I was very happy to see his times. The atmosphere this week was so good with so many fans: it was nice to see that people are enjoying the rally and cheering for us. It’s been a really cool way to end the season, especially to be on the podium with a team result like this.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Esapekka Lappi

“My pace was getting better and better day by day. This morning I was not really satisfied, I felt I was really driving on the limit of the grip, and I couldn’t match the times of Katsuta, especially on the wet tyres. At the tyre fitting, we made a change with the suspension set-up just to try something else, and it worked. In the end, I think we found something at the right time to stop him, which was important for that fight. It is good to finish the final rally without any damage to the car. I think my season has been 50/50; at the beginning I was learning a lot, the middle of the season was really good, but the end was not so strong. I’m looking forward to coming back even better in 2024.”

Thierry Neuville

“I’m quite happy this event is over now. It was still an enjoyable weekend, but we could have been in the fight for victory considering the speed we have. I’m really disappointed for that mistake but it is what it is, and I apologised to the team for it. We’re going to another good season next year; we took eight podiums, but we also had a couple of problems that cost us important points for the championship. We were really only targeting victories at the end of the season – sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“We had a clean day today, no trouble and brought the car home. From our side it was the best season we could have done; we gave our best shot, and we are here now. When you have high expectations it’s easy to have a high a fall and that is how it feels from my side and in some ways from the team side too. We need to be proud of the two wins from this year, there were some positives to take from those.”

Grégoire Munster

“I am sorry to the team for the mistake this afternoon, they have worked really hard to deliver so many updates to the car this year and I was trying to reflect that with my performance this weekend. We fought really, really hard and at one point it looked like the win was possible, the feeling, pace and car all felt good. It is a shame it ended the way it did, but I am very happy with the pace I was able to show this weekend.”

Summary

Well, what an amazing rally and a fantastic victory for Elfyn and Scott. They utterly deserved this win, setting amazing pace in the heavy rain on Friday morning, taking huge time from his teammate Kalle who was opening the road. Those further back as well, could not challenge the crew in the number 33 GR Yaris Rally1 and they continued to build their lead.

Takamoto and Aaron were the other crew that were really on the pace, and just their slight mistake on the first run of Isegami’s Tunnel kept them off the podium and perhaps their first ever victory. They went on to take nine stage wins, showing amazing pace and consistency.

For Seb and Vincent having taken part in their eighth rally this year, it was the typical consistent drive from the multi champion and co-driver. There were no stage wins though but the pace of the regular crews would always be just a little higher. They were happy for their part in taking second place as part of their teams 1-2-3 result.

The new world champions, Kalle and Jonne, would also not be on the ultimate pace and again would not add to their stage win tally. However, again the consistency that took them to many podiums this year was on display, keeping out of trouble, particularly during Friday morning when things were most tricky.

For Thierry and Martijn in their Hyundai again they showed good pace, winning five stages, but with their retirement just when they had closed the gap to Elfyn and Scott, there was the mistake which sent the car into the tree and that was their challenge done.

Their teammates Esapekka and Janne in their first visit to the stages in Japan did struggle in the stages out in the forests, but they found something on Sunday afternoon which allowed him to pull away from the closing Takamoto.

At M-Sport, Ott and Martin in their final drive in the Puma had their struggles with reliability and lack of pace out there. It was a shame to see this, as we know how good the Estonian crew are.

Well, that’s it for the year then, I hope that you have enjoyed my daily reports throughout the months.

Look out soon for my team-by-team season report.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 13

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 13

The second full day then and the crews had eight stages over 84.68km’s. Thierry returned, but the damage to Dani and Adrien’s cars was too big to deal with meaning that they did not return to the action. The Belgian would therefore be opening the roads throughout Saturday’s stages.

First up then was SS9 Nukata Forest 1 – 20.32 km and the stage was red flagged. The reason was that Thierry came through the stage and found one of the course cars stopped on the side of the road. He brought his car to a stop and the driver of the course car then waved him on. He completed the stage in road mode. Later the stage was allowed to run again and Takamoto and Seb shared the fastest time from Elfyn. In WRC2 Andreas continued to lead from Nikolay and Heikki.

Into SS10 Lake Mikawako 1 – 14.78 km and Takamoto was fastest from Thierry and Ott. The Japanese star was closing on Ott, the gap between them just under 20 seconds. Meanwhile EP passed Andreas for fourth overall, gaining two positions as well with Gregoire also dropping a place to sixth. Andreas continued to lead the WRC2 category from Nikolay and Heikki.

Next up were the two runs of SS11 and SS12 Okazaki City SSS 1 and SSS 2 – 2.84 km. Elfyn was fastest from Ott and Thierry in the first run. In the second run the top three was Elfyn, Ott and Seb.

Takamoto continued his great form winning SS13 Nukata Forest 2 – 20.32 km from Seb and Ott. The Japanese driver gained two positions on the main leader board moving ahead of Nikolay and Gregoire and into seventh overall. There was no change in WRC2 with Andreas, Nikolay and Heikki maintaining their control over the podium positions.

Getting closer to the end of the day’s action then and Takamoto won SS14 Lake Mikawako 2 – 14.78 km from Thierry and Ott. There was some real drama in this one, with snow starting to fall for some in the stage. Takamoto had the best conditions of all which helped him. In WRC2 we sadly lost third placed Heikki who retired after suffering transmission failure. What a shame for the former F1 driver. Kajetan benefitted from this and moved into third place behind Andreas and Nikolay.

The final proper stage of the day then SS15 Shinshiro City – 6.70 km and Takamoto was again fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. This stage was quite different in character with a much wider road In WRC2 there was no change.

The final stage then, SS16 Toyota Stadium SSS 3 – 2.10 km and Esapekka was fastest from Ott and Thierry.

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top positions.

Classification after Day Two

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been quite a mixed day again in terms of the conditions. It was much drier than yesterday but still not completely dry and certainly not easy. We’ve just been trying to manage the risk as best as we can, which is not easily done on these stages as the margins are so fine that it only takes a tiny little slip to pick up an issue. We’re trying to keep focused and manage the gap that we have. When it started sleeting in the second one this afternoon, I couldn’t quite believe it, but thankfully we got through it without issue. There’s a big day ahead tomorrow: it still doesn’t look so straightforward, and we know how demanding those stages are, so it’s far from done.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been a positive day for us. We still faced some crazy conditions out there. This morning there was no rain but, in the forest, it was extremely slippery. Then this afternoon we expected to maybe have a few rain drops, but then I started to see little snowflakes falling. It was for sure costing us more time compared to those ahead of us on the road. Luckily it didn’t affect our position, but it was a moment where you needed to keep your calm. We are still on for the team’s target with a 1-2-3 and Taka is flying back up the order as well. There are a lot of kilometres left to cover to secure these positions but at the moment it’s looking good.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was still tricky today. This morning we were expecting it to be drier with more grip, but it was still quite greasy and damp after the rain. We didn’t have the best setup for that, but we got through it fine. The weather has actually been quite annoying, because just when you think you will have a dry loop of stages and you can enjoy it a bit more, it starts to snow! The last few kilometres in that middle stage of the afternoon were really tricky when we lost the temperature from the tyres. The plan is just to try and bring it home like this for the team. The weather doesn’t seem to be letting off for tomorrow, so we’ll just try to stay on the road and focus on reaching the finish.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Esapekka Lappi

“We managed to improve our pace yesterday afternoon, then we were able to continue that throughout today. Thankfully the conditions were a bit easier and at the tyre fitting zone we changed the car balance, which was a lot better and resulted in some promising splits. Unfortunately, rain in the stage destroyed my time but we are heading in a positive direction. In these conditions, we had a couple of big understeer moments in some corners, but we survived. I think the fight tomorrow is going to be tight – Katsuta has been impressive today. The gap should have been bigger, but my pace hasn’t been there this weekend, so hopefully I can be a bit better on Sunday.”

Thierry Neuville

“Thankfully there wasn’t much damage, and the team did a good job to fix the car yesterday. I felt comfortable today. It was a long one and we are here to ensure the team has at least two cars in the fight, but there isn’t much we can do in our position. We can maybe gamble with the tyres and gather some information, but I think the weather here is very particular to this year and we’re unlikely to see it again next season. There were still some slippery conditions out there, but I think we managed them well. The only thing we can take away from today is that we had good pace and look forward to another long day tomorrow.”

Summary

Well, what a great day of action. Takamoto showed that he wanted to display the pace which he had on Friday with lots of stage wins. Quite brilliant to see. Meanwhile out the front Elfyn continued to lead of course which was great to see for the Welshman, whilst Seb and Kalle were in second and third positions.

The final day sees the crews tackle 84.08km’s over six stages. Let’s see what happens on the final day of this year’s championship.

The first full day of this event dawned with heavy rain coming down on the seven stages that made up the first full day of action. After the first stage held late in the Toyota Stadium, Thierry held the lead from his teammate Esapekka, with Ott in third overall, only 1.4 seconds between them. Takamoto was the best of the Toyota’s holding fifth overall, whilst Kalle, Seb and Elfyn were in sixth, eighth and ninth overall.

First up then was SS2 Isegami’s Tunnel 1 – 23.67 km and the road was incredibly wet but also messy with leaves on the road from the trees in the forest. So messy in fact that the road was cleaning for the later cars. The conditions caught out Adrien, Dani and in particular Takamoto who was up on Elfyn’s split times until he went slightly off road and damaged his car. Elfyn though was fastest from Seb and Thierry with the Belgian driver dropping from the lead to third, now 15.9 seconds behind new rally leader Elfyn. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest from Nikolay and Heikki Kovalainen. These three were also the top three overall in the category.

Into SS3 Inabu Dam 1 – 19.38 km and it was a second fastest time for Elfyn who was a very large 10.1 faster than Thierry with Andreas in his Skoda third fastest. Really impressive stuff from the Norwegian. In fact, there were two other WRC2 cars ahead of Seb, with Gregoire fourth and Takamoto’s dad Norihika fifth in his Toyota Yaris Rally2 car. The top three was now Elfyn, ahead of Thierry by 26 seconds with Seb now dropping behind the Belgian to third.

SS4 Shitara Town 1 – 22.53 km was cancelled, so the crews headed back to service before the afternoon stages.

The second run of SS5 Isegami’s Tunnel 2 – 23.67 km saw Takamoto go fastest from Thierry and Seb. Rally leader Elfyn was only fourth fastest and lost 15 seconds to a charging Thierry, the gap now down to a little over 10 seconds. Seb slid wide and damaged his door on the end of some armco but still managed to complete the stage. Meanwhile in WRC2 Nikolay was fastest from Andreas and Heikki. They also remained the top three with Andreas 21 seconds ahead of Nikolay and Heikki.

Into SS6 Inabu Dam 2 – 19.38 km and Takamoto made it two in a row, going fastest from Elfyn and Seb. EP had a better stage having really been able to show improved pace, going fifth fastest. However, it was all over for Thierry. Having just started the stage and going into the first proper right-hand corner his car bottomed out in a dip that was in the braking area and the car slid off the road and hit a tree, breaking the front suspension. That was it, over and out. In WRC2 there was no change either in the top three in the stage, or the category.

The final proper stage of the day then, SS7 Shitara Town 2 – 22.53 km, the stage that was cancelled earlier. Takamoto made it three in a row winning this one by just 1.1 seconds from Elfyn and Seb. Elfyn now held a 50.9 seconds over Seb, with Kalle a further 1 minute and 7 seconds back in third. In WRC2 there were no changes at all and Andreas was almost 30 seconds ahead of Nikolay and Heikki a further 2 minutes 24 back.

The final stage then of the day, SS8 Toyota Stadium SSS 2 – 2.10 km and EP took the stage win from Seb and Takamoto who actually set an identical time. In WRC2 there was no real change with Andreas fastest from Nikolay and Kajetan with Heikki setting an identical time to the Pole.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“I’m happy to be here tonight and in the lead of the rally. We had very difficult conditions this morning especially with a lot of standing water and a lot of surprises. We just tried to pick our way through it, but it felt quite slow at times, particularly in the first stage this morning. It’s really difficult to judge the grip in those conditions, and on these stages, you have very little room to go anywhere if you misjudge it. This afternoon the grip was a lot better, and I didn’t make full use of that in the first stage after service, but it got a bit better after that. It’s been a good day but there’s still a long way to go.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m happy to make it to the end of this very challenging day. Like expected, it has been very tricky. This morning it was more about surviving and getting through those conditions. It was very difficult to enjoy the driving but I’m glad that we made it through. This afternoon, conditions were better, and we could have a bit more fun in the car, but it was still challenging, and we had quite a moment in SS5 when I hit the barrier. That gave a bit of an extra job to my mechanics tonight, and the most important thing is that they could fix it and we can continue in the rally. The gaps are quite big now but it’s a positive position for the team and we will try to maintain this.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“This morning was definitely very tricky. When the rain came down it was massive, and it was some of the most difficult conditions I have ever seen with so much standing water everywhere. It was also a big challenge for us starting first on the road, as we had to clear the road of leaves and pine needles, so we just tried to stay on the road. This afternoon the roads were a bit cleaner, and it was more enjoyable, as we could drive with our own pace and do better times. I hope it will dry up a bit more tomorrow and then it should be cleaner and hopefully a bit more straightforward.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Esapekka Lappi

“We stayed out of trouble, which is the most important thing after a day where we have seen so many surprises and people getting caught out by slippery corners. For sure, my pace was not even near where it should be. It was starting to get better in the end, but it wasn’t very impressive so let’s try to make it better tomorrow. Even though we are expecting drier conditions we may still need wet tyres, however I have been saving plenty of new ones, so I am ready for that.”

Thierry Neuville

“It was really tough out there to be honest, it was pouring with rain and the roads were undriveable. We are used to difficult conditions, but I think there is a limit, and there was no reason to take extra risk when we knew the weather would be better this afternoon. We got off the start line of SS5 and went through quite a big compression at the first corner; I hit the sump guard and lost the front of the car. With these narrow roads, there was no space to go wide and we stopped in the trees and damaged the suspension. This morning we were very slow due to the heavy rain, but I didn’t expect the dip to be so harsh or bounce me off the road.”

Dani Sordo

“I’m really disappointed for myself and the team, but it was really difficult conditions. We just missed the braking 11 kilometres into the stage. We started aquaplaning and we went straight on. I touched the brakes and one side locked up. We also had some mist on our screen which was a little distracting. Until then we were doing ok in the stage, we were taking no risks, but when you’re aquaplaning you can’t do anything. It looks like it was particularly slippery at that section with both Katsuta and Fourmaux also having problems at the same corner.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“Problems this afternoon and difficult to know to know exactly, seems to be something electrical and one by one everything started to fail and then we were in safe mode, but happy to be at the end of the day.

Saturday

Well, what does Saturday hold for the crews? There are 84.86km’s over the eight stages. The weather reports say that the sun will return to the stages which may mean the challenging conditions are in the past.

Wow, here we are then, the last round of this year’s championship. There are a few goodbyes to be said at the end. Ott and Martin will be leaving M-Sport Ford again and heading back to Hyundai.

Before all that, the crews have 304km’s and 22 stages to face over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday sees the longest day with 135km’s over eight stages.

Thursday morning sees shakedown, followed by SSS1 Toyota Stadium (2.10km) in the evening.

Friday’s seven stages begin shortly after sunrise, with SS2 Isegami’s Tunnel (23.67km) commencing at 7:04am.

Saturday presents eight further tests that cover a total distance of 84.68km, including the third and final pass of the Toyota Stadium super special stage.

The final day poses six final stages, ending with the SS22 Asahi Kougen Power Stage (7.52km) at 14:15.

All the times are local.

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“I always enjoy going to Japan and it’s going to be nice to go back there having already secured the championship, just as we did last year. The Rally Japan stages are really demanding, and the roads maybe don’t suit me as well as on some other asphalt rallies. Last year we didn’t have the best performance there, but I really want to do improve on that this time. It’s a home rally for the team and we all want to do a better result. It’s a busy week to be a Toyota driver, but with no pressure around the championship, I think we can enjoy this rally a bit more and I hope we can do a good result.”

Elfyn Evans

“Rally Japan is going to be an important rally for myself and the team, and we obviously want to finish the season on a high. It’s definitely not an easy rally to go to, but we were in contention for the win until quite late on last year and we would really like to put that right. Hopefully we can find that same kind of pace this time around. Even though we know most of the stages from last year, there are still some unknowns because we can’t test on those kind of roads beforehand. The setup is therefore a bit of a guess based on what we had last year and what we’ve learned since, but we will do our best to adapt.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m looking forward to Rally Japan. Even though we have already achieved our main targets for the season as a team, as a Toyota driver I still feel a responsibility to try to deliver a home win in Japan. That would be a very special and important result. Personally, I hope it will be better than our last rally, and hopefully the conditions in Japan will be a bit more enjoyable: I think we saw last year that there are not so many opportunities for cutting, so the conditions can remain a bit more stable for everybody regardless of starting position. Hopefully we can have a good fight and end the season on a high.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“We are going to Japan with the tarmac mileage from Central European Rally and a win from last year. It’s an exciting event in a country I really enjoy, particularly the culture and atmosphere. The fans are really excited to see the WRC and I think we are going to see even more enthusiastic fans this year supporting us, I didn’t even know I had so many fans in Japan until I arrived there last year – it was so beautiful to see. In order to be successful, we need to ensure we avoid understeer and make the right calls on tyres; this time of year, means that conditions can be tricky. Hopefully we can continue our success and have another great experience out there.”

Esapekka Lappi

“It’s my first time in Japan, so my goal is to finish well. I want to end the season as high as we can, and I want to be on the podium again. There are many things we must do to achieve that result, but tyre choice will be crucial.  An early exit last time out on the European tarmac means that we have everything to prove here as it’s both the second consecutive tarmac event and the last rally of the season. I have heard that the atmosphere is great and there are some very passionate Japanese rally fans, so I am excited to put on a good show for them to close the season.”

Dani Sordo

“Rally Japan is difficult as the stages are often narrow and twisty but is a nice event. Although we didn’t do too many kilometres there last year due to the fire, it is a rally I enjoy. The atmosphere in Japan is amazing; the people really like and respect rally. There are always lots of passionate fans, particularly on the road sections as many of the stages are up in the mountains where it is difficult to go and see the cars. For us, the keys to success are to have good pace notes and a strong setup. Making the car easy to drive and nice in the corners is very important. As for our goal, I would like to win for sure.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“I’m very much looking forward to Japan, I’m a big fan of their cuisine, but also the nature is turning beautiful there at this time of the year and the nights are quite cold. In Japan, there are normally deep forest roads which are very technical and rather slow, but as they are narrow there aren’t really any cuts. We really took the maximum in Central Europe and the target is to finish our season well in Japan.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“We have been working hard all season and I discussed with the team about the chance of coming to Japan which I am very grateful for. I spent a few days here already and this country is amazing. It is my first time here and the people are so kind and respectful, and the culture is so interesting. The aim for the rally is to make the most of this opportunity the team has given me. It has been almost a year since I drove a Rally1 car so I need to be careful and ensure I finish every stage and get the most experience.”

Grégoire Munster

“I have great memories of Rally Japan last year when I won my category, it was a great event and I have been particularly excited about coming back. I feel like I have improved as a driver a lot since then. I have learned a lot this year driving the Puma Hybrid Rally1, and I increased my confidence in Central Europe. I am aiming for a high result this weekend as I am back in the Fiesta Rally2, I want to repeat my result from last year, but it will not be easy as the competition is very high.”

Summary

Last year Thierry took victory ahead of then teammate Ott and local hero Takamoto was third. Again, the podium could be filled with any of the top crews. Hopefully we shall be treated to a great battle for positions up and down the leader board.

Interestingly last year’s WRC2 winner, Grégoire Munster will be competing at the top level this year. It will be intriguing to see how he and Louis get on this year in the Puma.

As always, shakedown will be shown on YouTube and then all the action will be shown on the Rally TV website.

The final day then of this unique rally and with 67km’s over four stages to decide not only the result, but also this seasons championship.

Elfyn and Scott returned to the action with a rebuilt GR Yaris and would open the road throughout the final stages. Could they take a power stage win and extend his championship challenge?

First up was SS15 Böhmerwald 1 – 17.25 km and Seb was fastest from Elfyn and Thierry. The Belgian was continuing to pull away from the Finns in second place, the gap now over 30 seconds. Meanwhile we had drama in WRC2 with long time leaders Emil and Reeta in their Rally2 i20 suffering a mechanical problem on the road section to the start of the stage and having to retire. Nicolas was fastest from Nikolay and Alejando with the Frenchman moving into the lead of the category.

Next up was the first run of SS16 Passauer Land 1 – 16.37 km, what would be the power stage at the end. Elfyn was fastest from Seb and Takamoto, whilst Kalle and Jonne continued to just complete the kilometres with a controlled drive through this stage. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest from Nikolay and Nicolas, whilst Nicolas continued to lead the category from Erik and Kajetan. Nikolay was climbing up the leader board now into sixth place.

Onto the penultimate stage then, SS17 Böhmerwald 2 – 17.25 km and Seb was fastest from Takamoto and Thierry. Further back, Kalle and Elfyn were equal sixth fastest in the stage. Nikolay was fastest in WRC2 from Alejando and Nicolas. The Frenchman continued to pull away from second placed Erik.

Time then for the power stage, SS18 Wolf Powerstage Passauer Land 2 16.37 km and there was a thirty-minute delay before the action started. Once the action got started Elfyn flew through the stage and set a time that no-one bettered. He and Scott took the maximum power stage points from Thierry, Seb, Takamoto and Ott. The key moment was when second place finishers Kalle and Jonne completed, only eighth fastest in the stage, but securing second overall and therefore this years world championship title. They had become the 2023 world champions and double world champions as well.

Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Central European Rally

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville (1^st)

“I am really happy; it was a relief to make it to the finish! It was a very challenging, tough weekend out there. Overall, we have done a very good job; we had good consistency and speed, which really paid off, and I was able to start enjoying the rally more towards the end – especially when the grip conditions got a bit more stable. Thank you to everyone – it was a real team effort this weekend, and we did it. We have been pushing hard since Sardinia for another win, and it didn’t happen despite many podiums. To win here in front of lots of Belgian fans and family is obviously great – a lot of joy in this moment. We can be proud of what we achieved and now we look forward to the last event of the year and focus on another victory.”

Teemu Suninen (6^th)

“Generally, the rally was good. I haven’t done one like this for two years, so I was thrown in the deep end! Every loop was different in terms of weather and conditions, so there was a lot of learning. I had good pace in places – like going second fastest on SS11 – but my experience wasn’t enough to adapt to the conditions of the car from the very first kilometre. I’d like to say a big thanks to the team, it was a great season. It was nice to jump in the car mid-season and take on this challenge; I think this is a good position to continue building on from here. I’m satisfied with the job I’ve done; I was pretty much where I expected to be on paper at what is the hardest rally for me on the calendar.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä (2^nd)

“It feels really good right now. I’m really relieved, because it’s always a big burden on your shoulders when you’re fighting for a title. I think this year, it was tougher and more of a challenge than last year. The competition was tighter, but we did a really good job. I’m really proud of the season that we did, and I think I’m going to enjoy this one more than the first one. This was a difficult event with some of the trickiest conditions we’ve had for a long time, but we kept our cool and stuck to our plan. We had to make of use our starting position on Friday, which we did, but once Elfyn went out, it was clear we didn’t need to fight for the win anymore because there was a bigger goal we were aiming for. A big thanks to Jonne and the whole team, and to everybody who is supporting us. Now I’m going to enjoy Rally Japan.”

Sébastien Ogier (4^th)

“This rally was not my strongest and I think there was not much we could do with our start position in these conditions even without our issue on Friday morning. But towards the end of the weekend, the conditions were more enjoyable with some dry sections where we could push a bit and have fun in the car. So at least we have some fast times we can take from this weekend. Congratulations to Kalle and Jonne: they did another impressive season and I’m sure this will not be the last one. At the same time, I feel sorry for Elfyn because he made a good fight with Kalle this season. Now we’ll try to finish the year on a high at Rally Japan.”

Elfyn Evans (31^st)

“I want to say a huge congratulations to Kalle and Jonne – as well as the whole team – for winning these titles. They’ve worked hard and done an incredible job and they deserve the title. From our side, there’s disappointment of course but we knew it was a long shot coming into the weekend and we had to give it a go. In fairness to Kalle, he was very strong on Friday, and we didn’t have the pace to follow him. After that we continued to try, it didn’t work out this time, but sometimes that’s the way it goes, and we’ll try again next year. We managed to get a few points from the Power Stage and now we can look forward to Rally Japan.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tӓnak (3^rd)

“It’s a great outcome after the weekend so not a bad weekend at all. Staying out of trouble gave us something good back. I would say we weren’t that competitive this weekend but we also didn’t have a great start position on Friday and by lunchtime that day we were already in a position where there was no need to push things further, so we focussed on managing the weekend. Let’s see what Japan brings and maybe there is more competition for us.”

Grégoire Munster (7^th)

“The rally felt like a big test for me, we drove in wet conditions, mixed conditions with mixed tyre packages and then we drove on dry on the last day with a mixed tyre package, even using the hard tyres at a certain point. We did some good stage times I think, so that was a bit like the cherry on the cake. The team did a great job and I think I can say that I felt pretty confident straight away with the Puma and it’s a really positive point about the car that you feel comfortable straight away. We did a personal best stage time with a fourth place even with a stall in a hairpin so it could have been even better but all in all happy with the performance.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet (10^th)

“It’s been a very big weekend on the new event, it’s been a lot of work. Very demanding for us with the new co-driver, Benjamin, but everything was working well even if it’s been very tough for him with the notes.

“A bit disappointed about our small off on Friday which cost us four minutes, but without that we can say the pace was not so bad. A bit unfortunate about the issue with the clutch or the diff this morning, but that’s part of the rally and let’s see for the future if we’re able to be there!”

Adrien Fourmaux (1^st) in RC2

“Really happy about the weekend. Starting with a puncture in stage three we were fifteenth overall, catching all the positions to get the lead on Saturday evening with some fastest times and to win the rally. It was a big push, the car has been fantastic, and the team has been working really well on the car, everything was always perfect.

“Thanks to the team, the new cooling package has been working really well. Looking at the times, that for sure helped us this weekend. “The next challenge in Japan is on the way, but first I want to enjoy this victory.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 12

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 12

Summary

This was a significant result for Hyundai and Thierry. They had not taken victory since June in Rally Italia. It is good to see the team take this result and they certainly deserved this, as they have worked incredibly hard this year.

However, we should talk about Kalle and Jonne. To win their second world title is amazing. Kalle becomes the youngest double world champion in the history of the sport. Quite remarkable really.

Seeing Ott and Martin on the podium again for M-Sport Ford is great and shows that the Puma is a front running car capable of great results. Let’s hope that they continue to score these results next season even without Ott and Martin.

The final round of the championship is next up in Japan, held from the 16^th to the 19^th of November.

Onto the second full day of this event and the crews faced 109km’s over six stages in Germany and Austria. Could Elfyn or Thierry pass Kalle for the lead, even though the Finn had a 36.4 second lead?

First up then was SS9 Schärdinger Innviertel 1 – 15.72 km and Elfyn showed he was on the pace winning the stage from Thierry and Kalle. Meanwhile in WRC2 Nicolas was fastest from Nikolay and Erik. Emil remained in charge of the category leading Erik and Nicolas. However, Nikolay was climbing up the leader board passing Kajetan for fourth overall.

Into SS10 Mühltal 1 – 27.15 km and Thierry was fastest from Elfyn this time with Seb third. There was drama though for rally leader Kalle who slid off the road and lost 24 seconds of his lead. WRC2 leaders Emil and Reeta were fastest from Nicolas and Nikolay. The pace of Nicolas brought him ahead of Erik and into second overall in the category. Mind you there was only three tenths of a second between them, meaning the fight was still on for second place.

The final stage of the morning loop SS11 Knaus Tabbert Bayerischer Wald 1 – 11.88 km and Teemu set the early pace before Thierry came through to set the fastest time from his teammate and Seb was third. However, this stage saw the retirement of Elfyn and Scott who slid wide and hit a garage on the left-hand side of the stage. The damage was too much for them to continue. Kalle was made aware that his teammate was out, and he made the decision to just drive through safely given that his closest rival was now out. In WRC2 Nicolas was fastest from Emil and Erik and the top three remained unchanged.

Next up after the service break was SS12 Schärdinger Innviertel 2 – 15.72 km and Seb was fastest from Thierry and Ott. Kalle was controlling his pace setting and set the same time in the stage as his Japanese teammate, going equal fourth fastest. In WRC2 Gus went fastest from Nikolay and Nicolas. Emil continued to lead the category from Nicolas, with the gap between them reduced slightly to under 13 seconds.

The penultimate stage of the day, SS13 Mühltal 2 – 27.15 km and Seb was fastest again from Ott and Thierry. Kalle remained off the pace as he continued to take things easy, and Thierry now had a lead of 26.7 seconds. Emil set the pace in WRC2 going fastest from Gus and Erik. The Finn continued to lead the category with an increased lead of almost 21 seconds.

Now to the final stage then which started in semi-light and ended in darkness with the full moon shining over the landscape. Thierry set the early pace but then Kalle came through and was fastest by half a second and Takamoto was third. Emil was fastest from Gus and Erik in WRC2.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Another tricky day, similar to yesterday with tough conditions out there. We couldn’t expect such a turnaround in the early morning, but both Kalle and Elfyn made mistakes while we were very consistent throughout the whole day. This gave us the lead by mid-day service and then an even bigger margin this evening. I wouldn’t say the gap is comfortable, because anything can happen, but we should be able to manage it tomorrow. We are as confident as we can be we hope to have a clean run, no surprises, and that it is a bit easier than the past couple of days.”

Teemu Suninen

“Today in Central European Rally was another challenging one. I felt that the rally was quite different compared to yesterday; the conditions of all the roads changed. In the morning loop, we had good pace, but in the afternoon, we went for slicks. The grip level was a lot better, but I couldn’t really use it and I was a bit cautious in some sections. Generally, it has been a good one, and it is great to see Thierry leading the rally. I wish him the best of luck for tomorrow and hope to show even more improvements myself.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was a big challenge today. I had a moment myself in the second stage: it surprised me a bit just how slippery it was under braking, and luckily there was some space to be able to save it and come back on the road. It was a real pity then when Elfyn went off; I found out just before we started the stage and then the plan changed because now it was just about finishing the rally with some decent points. In these extremely difficult conditions, we just tried to cut out the risk and be safe, so we were a bit slower on some stages. It was not so enjoyable like this, but I did have a better feeling in the last stage which hopefully we can take into tomorrow. But we just have to try and focus on bringing it home.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Today the roads were different to yesterday, but the conditions were pretty similar for us, still running in the middle of the pack. This morning it was still tricky with mud on the road, so I tried to keep it on the safe side, and we had an OK morning loop. Then in the afternoon we had better conditions, it was a bit drier, and we could finally enjoy some better grip and pace and have more fun in the car. So, there are some positives to take from today. There is too much of a gap around us now to really target anything for tomorrow and the conditions might still be tricky in the morning, but we’ll try to have a decent pace until the end.”

Elfyn Evans

“The conditions were quite difficult out there again this morning, but things seemed to be working quite well for us behind the wheel. Unfortunately, in the final stage of the loop I was just caught out by a particularly slippery right-hander. The car seemed to slow down initially quite well on the brakes, but when I turned in, the grip was much lower than I had expected, and I just locked the inside front wheel. Once that pushed us wide, the road was so narrow that there was nowhere to go really. We picked up a bit too much damage to be able to continue, but the team has managed to repair the car so we can be back out there tomorrow. I’m just disappointed for the team and for ourselves.”

Sunday

The final day then waits for the crews and perhaps Kalle and Jonne’s second championship title. With 67km’s over four stages and no service break it will be important to get through cleanly. Thierry is in a good position to take victory, whilst Elfyn’s remaining title hopes remain with taking maximum points in the power stage and with Kalle not actually finishing the rally.

The first full day of this unique event saw the crews tackle six stages and a total of 133km’s. The first two stages were run on Thursday evening and saw Thierry hold the lead from Ott, with Seb in third.

Friday would see Kalle open the road with his championship challenger Elfyn being second into the stages.

First up was SS3 Vlachovo Březí 1 – 13.66 km and Kalle was fastest from EP and Elfyn. Both Toyota crews were on the move up the leader board the Finn moving into second overall and Elfyn into fourth. In WRC2, Emil was fastest in the stage from Andreas and Nicolas. Andreas was leading the category from Emil whose fastest time saw him jump nine positions and Nicolas also moving up into third.

Next up was SS4 Zvotoky 1 – 23.81 km and Kalle made it two in a row with EP again second and Elfyn again third. Kalle now moved into the lead deposing Thierry who could only manage a time a full 19.5 seconds slower than the Finn and suddenly the championship leader had a huge lead. EP moved up to third place, just 1.5 seconds from his teammate. In WRC2 Nikolay was fastest from Emil and Alejando. Emil moved into the lead of the category, Erik Cais into second and Nicolas third. Andreas fell from the lead after going wide and hitting some trees, damaging his suspension and the front of his Skoda.

The final stage before the tyre fitting zone, SS5 Šumavské Hoštice 1 – 23.43 km and Kalle was fastest again from Elfyn and Thierry. Kalle was building a lead, now almost 30 seconds over his teammate. Elfyn was now in second place having passed Thierry. In WRC2 Nikolay was fastest again from Gus this time and Emil third fastest. The Finn remained in the lead of the category from Erik and Kajetan who’d just moved up into third. EP crashed out of the stage, hitting a tree. There were issues with spectators along the section of the stage where the Finn crashed out.

After the break and SS6 Vlachovo Březí 2 – 13.66 km followed the tyre fitting zone. Elfyn set the pace from Thierry and Kalle. The stage was cancelled after Seb completed the stage though due to issues with spectators in unsafe places. The WRC2 crew were given notional times as they were not able to complete the stage at pace.

Into SS7 Zvotoky 2 – 23.81 km and the top three again was Kalle from Thierry and Elfyn. The Finn continued to pull away and now had a lead over Elfyn of 37 seconds. Meanwhile Thierry was just three tenths behind the Welshman. In WRC2 Nicolas was fastest from Nikolay and Erik.

The final stage then of the day, SS8 Šumavské Hoštice 2 – 23.43 km and Thierry was fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. The Belgian moved into second place pushing Elfyn down to third. Seb was also on the move, gaining two places and into sixth overall. Nikolay was fastest again in WRC2 from Emil and Erik. The Finn continued to lead the category, holding a almost 15 second lead over Erik.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“The conditions today were super tough and especially in the first two stages this morning. There was a lot of rain, a lot of standing water and even though we were the first car, there was already quite a bit of dirt on the road for us. It was a big challenge, but we still did some really good times. In the afternoon, the conditions were more equal in terms of the starting place, because we also had lots of mud. We took the pace down a bit just to be safe, but still created a bit more gap to the others on the middle stage, so we can be happy. Tomorrow we’re going to be the last Rally1 car on the road and if it’s wet again, that will be a huge challenge. We just need to keep focused and avoid mistakes.”

Elfyn Evans

“There was quite a lot of rain overnight and into the morning, so we faced some pretty difficult, full wet conditions. There was quite a lot of mud being dragged out too, so it was not easy to judge the different grip levels. The second pass this afternoon was tough as well with a lot of mud and quite changeable conditions. It started to dry out a bit which almost made it more difficult with the tyres starting to move around, and then a bit of drizzle again for the last stage. Our position tonight is not what we really hoped for, but Kalle has done an incredible job today and we definitely couldn’t match his speed. The gap is pretty big, but we’ll continue to do the best we can. In a rally like this, anything can happen to anyone, so we have to keep going.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It has not been the day that we wanted. It all went wrong for us very quickly this morning. In the heat of the moment, I probably overreacted a bit and I’m sorry for blaming the tyre. In the end, the problem was that the wheel rim was broken, and this is why the air escaped from the tyre. In a very narrow section in the mud, it looks as though there was a rock that we could not see. In these conditions you just have to follow the line and I could not do anything. I think a lot of people damaged their wheels, but unfortunately for us the air escaped. That was a tough thing to take to start the day. After that we tried to keep it consistent and didn’t take maximum risk. I have not been feeling 100 per cent with some illness, and it was difficult anyway to do the best times with our road position. We just tried to bring the car back in one piece and aim to do better tomorrow.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“It was a challenging day out there. The road conditions weren’t really good for us, we were constantly losing a little bit of time to Kalle who had the advantage of the cleanest roads of the day. We kept on fighting, did what we could with the package we had, and, in the end, I think second place is not too bad. It was muddier than we were expecting and went too stiff with the set-up this morning; we went too aggressive and had to stick with it for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will be another discovery day for us – everything is completely new, and we hope the conditions will be more stable. We’re going to do some changes overnight which will hopefully benefit us well.”

Teemu Suninen

“I must say the day was super tricky. It rained quite a lot and got incredibly slippery in the places where we were able to cut. I haven’t driven in conditions like this with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid so there was a lot of adjusting, but I was quite happy with the car – especially this afternoon, so it is getting better. I think the roads were getting slower car by car, but that’s part of the game and now we have a big job to do tomorrow. The gap is now three seconds to Ogier so let’s see how he will drive, but I believe it is better to focus on ourselves to try to take steps forward. I expect tomorrow’s stages to be simpler with a slightly better flow, but as today showed it is going to be difficult anyway.”

Esapekka Lappi

“This is one of the biggest disappointments of the season for me. Today I felt very confident – this was the best day on tarmac with this car ever. I had new brakes which gave me a much better feeling, which really helped in these dirty conditions. I was doing good times; they were coming naturally to me; I didn’t have to force it. My gravel crew did a great job predicting exactly where we would and wouldn’t find mud, so I was able to really commit in certain places. Unfortunately, on SS5, my best guess is we were too close to the edge of the road and the right rear was on some mud, and under braking we lost the rear immediately. With the trees, there was nowhere to run wide, and it was game over.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“In the morning it was quite a big struggle and managed to improve a bit. The lever broke into two places (gear lever) which caused some problems.”

Summary

Well, what a crazy first day on the stages. The rain came and really gave Kalle a chance to grab and take the lead. He and Jonne took the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. They deserve to hold the lead given this.

Saturday sees the crews tackle 109km’s over six stages. Can Elfyn and Thierry fight back and close the gap to the Finnish world champions? We shall see.