The situation already looked grim for Toyota, but Hyundai’s Ott Tänak’s crash on Sunday morning opened the door. Ultimately, as the teams headed into the Power Stage, they were tied on points, but Toyota clinched the win by a margin of just three points.
Toyota’s French star Sébastien Ogier won the Power Stage ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who secured the drivers’ world championship. Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta locked in Toyota’s celebration by finishing third and fourth in the Power Stage, while Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen, who had an off-track moment, was fifth.
Elfyn Evans took the overall rally victory, beating Ogier, who suffered a puncture on Friday, by one and a half minutes. M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux claimed his fifth podium of the season in third place, ahead of Katsuta.
“It wasn’t looking so good at one point, but very happy with the result, very happy for the team, thank you to my team-mates also, they did a great job. We’re sorry we couldn’t deliver one more championship, but we’ll try again next year. Little bit of pressure for sure, but that’s the name of the game,” Evans said.
“Target of the season reached. Season to remember.Next year I will stay a bit more at home. As long you can enjoy rallying like this, I have to enjoy it,” Ogier added.
Thierry Neuville was crowned the drivers’ champion. Evans moved up to second place after Tänak’s crash on Sunday. In the end, Neuville’s championship margin was a hefty 32 points, although on Friday his situation had looked dire due to a technical issue. Ogier was fourth in the championship standings, ahead of Fourmaux, who had a stellar season.
Sami Pajari secured second place in WRC2 at Rally Japan, clinching the championship ahead of Oliver Solberg, who didn’t compete in Japan. Nikolay Gryazin dominated the WRC2 category in Japan, with Pajari, who was focused on securing the title, finishing nearly two minutes behind. Host nation driver Hiroki Arai took third place in WRC2.
The 2025 WRC season kicks off as usual with Rally Monte Carlo in January.
Rally Japan overall results:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 3:23:41.0 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +1:27.3 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:55.6 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +2:02.6 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:11.5 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +6:54.1 |
| 7. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +10:04.3 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +11:50.8 |
| 9. | Hiroki Arai | Skoda | +13:24.3 |
| 10. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +14:15.8 |
Super Sunday results:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 43:03.4 |
| 2. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +4.2 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +6.0 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +11.6 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +26.1 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +27.0 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +54.0 |
Rally Japan itinerary (CET):
Thursday 21 November
01.01 Shakedown: Kuragaike Park (2.75 km)
11.05 SS1: Toyota Stadium SSS 1 (2.15 km)
Friday, 22 November
23:44 SS2: Isegami’s Tunnel 1 (23.67 km)
00:44 SS3: Inabu / Shitara 1 (19.38 km)
02:12 SS4: Shinshiro 1 (17.41 km)
04:27 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
05:32 SS5: Isegami’s Tunnel 2 (23.67 km)
06:32 SS6: Inabu / Shitara 2 (19.38 km)
08:00 SS7: Shinshiro 2 (17.41 km)
10:35 SS8: Okazaki SSS 1 (2.54 km)
10:44 SS9: Okazaki SSS 2 (2.54 km)
Saturday, 23 November
00:05 SS10: Mt. Kasagi 1 (16.47 km)
01:03 SS11: Nenoue Kougen 1 (11.60 km)
02:16 SS12: Ena 1 (22.79 km)
04:04 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
05:05 SS13: Mt. Kasagi 2 (16.47 km)
06:08 SS14: Nenoue Kougen 2 (11.60 km)
07:16 SS15: Ena 2 (22.79 km)
10:07 Service (45 min)
11:05 SS16: Toyota Stadium SSS 2 (2.15 km)
Sunday, 24 November
23:39 SS17: Nukata 1 (20.23 km)
00:35 SS18: Lake Mikawako 1 (13.98 km)
01:38 SS19: Nukata 2 (20.23 km)
03:49 Service (15 min)
04:17 SS20: Toyota Stadium SSS 3 (2.15 km)
06:15 SS21: Lake Mikawako 2 (13.98 km) Power Stage
