TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team claimed its fourth consecutive FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title in a thrilling end to the season as it scored a one-two finish on home ground at Rally Japan.
Despite closing its deficit to the leader Hyundai from 15 to 11 points based on the positions at the end of Saturday, TGR-WRT went into the final day still facing a tough task to retain its title. However, with all drivers on both teams pushing hard on the challenging asphalt roads near Toyota City, it was presented with an opportunity when the rally leader Ott Tänak went off on Sunday’s opening stage.
With Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier promoted into first and second overall, and with the separate Super Sunday classification also factored in, the two teams were level on points going into the rally-ending Power Stage, where up to five further points were available for the fastest drivers.
As Takamoto Katsuta had followed the team’s strategy by also cleanly making it through the rally, TGR-WRT could count on three contenders in this final-stage decider. Ogier set the fastest time in the Power Stage for the full five bonus points, and with Evans third-quickest and Katsuta fourth, the team clinched the title by three points after 13 rallies.
It is the eighth manufacturers’ title won by Toyota in the WRC, drawing it level with Citroën for second place in the all-time list.
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin proved to be the masters of the demanding Japanese stages once more as they celebrated their first victory since the same event one year ago. The result ensures they finish the year as runners-up in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings.
Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais ended the year with their seventh podium from 10 starts, including three wins. Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen also contributed four victories from a partial campaign. Katsuta and navigator Aaron Johnston rounded out the season strongly with a second straight top-four finish.
The GR Yaris Rally2 car’s debut season has been crowned with the ultimate accolade as Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen claimed the WRC2 championship at the final round.
The Finnish crew have driven an excellent campaign – including three Rally1 appearances with TGR-WRT – that they capped with a smart drive in Japan to second place in WRC2 in their Printsport-run car, enough to seal the title by three points.
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY JAPAN
| 1. | Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | 3h23m41.0s |
| 2. | Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | +1m27.3s |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) | +1m55.5s |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) | +2m02.6s |
| 5. | Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) | +3m11.5s |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) | +6m54.1s |
| 7. | Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroën C3 Rally2) | +10m04.3s |
| 8. | Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) | +11m50.8s |
| 9. | Hiroki Arai/Shunsuke Matsuo (Škoda Fabia R5) | +13m24.3s |
| 10. | Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) | +14m15.8s |
