Ott Tanak extended his Rally Japan lead on Saturday, but all eyes were on his Hyundai teammate, Thierry Neuville (above), as he vaulted up the leaderboard to put himself within touching distance of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship crown.
Neuville, often referred to as the WRCโs โnearly-manโ after five runner-up finishes in the final points, is at last within reach of shaking off that label and claiming his first-ever driversโ title — an achievement that would also be the first for a Belgian driver in WRC history. After a remarkable recovery from 15th to seventh overall in just seven stages on Saturdayโs penultimate day, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe provisionally banked four crucial points.
Following a power-sapping turbocharger issue on his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 that heavily disrupted his Friday, Neuvilleโs comeback has left him needing just two more points from Super Sunday to seal the deal. Heโs assured of his Saturday points haul if he successfully completes the five stages of the final leg, and with up to 12 additional points available on Sunday, the 36-year-old is within striking distance of breaking his runner-up streak and confirming his place as rallyingโs newest world champion.
“We need to be satisfied with our performance today and being able to get back to P7, which didn’t seem very realistic this morning,” Neuville said. “Obviously tomorrow could be a big day, so we’ll cross our fingers and try to have a good sleep.
“Iโve had enough setbacks during my career,” he added, “so Iโve learned to stay calm and just deal with it. The best thing you can do in that situation is fight back, and I think weโve done that in the proper way today.”
While Tanakโs aspirations for a second driversโ title to add to the one he won with Toyota in 2019 now look slim, heโs carrying Hyundaiโs hopes for securing the manufacturersโ championship. The Estonian began Saturday with a 20.9s lead over Toyota Gazoo Racingโs Elfyn Evans, but that margin had decreased to 15.3s after the morningโs loop of three stages. However, a strong afternoon performance on Aichiโs slippery, leaf-strewn asphalt roads allowed the i20 N Rally1 driver to re-extend his lead to 38.0s with just Sundayโs five stages remaining.
Ott Tanak increased his Rally Japan lead and bolstered Hyundaiโs WRC manufacturersโ title hope. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
As things stand, Hyundai heads Toyota by 11 points in the WRC manufacturersโ standings, with everything still to play for on the final day of the 2024 season finale.
“It’s been tough, but especially in the second loop weโve been stronger than Elfyn,” said Tanak. “We’ve been on it so far and we will continue to be on it. is our big target and we want to achieve it.”
Like Neuville, eight-time WRC champ Sebastien Ogier was also making moves. A two-minute wheel change on Friday had put the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver on the back foot, but he bounced back with a pair of stage wins and three second-fastest times on Saturday, climbing from fifth to third overall.
Ogier passed Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta, who spun on the morningโs final stage, as well as M-Sport Fordโs Adrien Fourmaux, and now trails Evansโ GR Yaris by 1m32.9s overnight.
After losing time with a Friday puncture, Toyotaโs Sebastien Ogier charged to third overall on Saturdayโs stages. Toyota Gazoo Racing photo
After passing Katsuta on the leaderboard following the Japanese driverโs mistake, Fourmaux remained under constant pressure from the local hero and brought his M-Puma Rally1 to the overnight halt just 6.1s ahead of him in fourth place.
Also showing decent pace was Fourmauxโs M-Sport Ford teammate, Gregoire Munster, who described the day as his โbest everโ on asphalt after grabbing a third-fastest time on the morningโs opening stage. Neuville, meanwhile, was more than four minutes behind Munster and 7m43.7s from Tanak in the lead — not that the overall time gap is Neuvilleโs prime concern at this point as he now concentrates on finishing and grabbing two precious Sunday points.
In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin stands on the brink of his third class win of the season, but itโs second-placed Sami Pajari who stands poised to collect the greater prize.
Toksport Citroen C3 driver Gryazin remained in control of WRC2 at the seasonโs final round, extending his lead to a commanding 1m25.3s on Saturdayโs stages, but Pajari was more than content to end the day in a controlled second place, knowing that such a result will be enough to secure the WRC2 title.
The 22-year-old Finn, co-driven by Enni Malkonen in their Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, was still quick enough to post three class fastest times as he reached the overnight halt 51.4s clear of Hiroki Araiโs R5-spec Skoda Fabia.
โThe day was quite nice, really consistent driving I would say,โ Pajari said. โThe car is working really fine, and I have been trying to take it nice and easy.โ
While Sami Pajari is doing what he needs to do to claim the WRC2 title, the Finn still posted three class fastest stage times. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Poolย
Sundayโs final leg features five all-asphalt stages, adding up to a not inconsequential 43.85 competitive miles. The rally-ending, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage is a second blast through the 8.69-mile Lake Mikawako test.ย
WRC Rally Japan, positions after Leg Two, SS16
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 39m48.0s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +38.0s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m10.9s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +2m19.1s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m52.2s
6 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m07.1s
7 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7m43.7s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 โ WRC2 leader) +7m55.9s
9 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 โ WRC2) +9m21.2s
10 Hiroki Arai/Shunsuke Matsuo (Skoda Fabia RS โ WRC2) +10m12.6s
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