The title marks Toyota’s fourth consecutive manufacturers’ championship. Heading into Rally Japan, the odds were not in Toyota’s favour. Hyundai led the standings by 15 points, and even on Sunday morning, the gap was still 11 points in Hyundai’s favour.
But then everything changed. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak crashed heavily while leading the rally.
“It was incredible to hear the news that Ott had gone off. I didn’t see the video, but that opened the door for us to attack.,” Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala recounted of the dramatic turn of events.
Toyota executed a clever but high-risk strategy on the rally-closing Power Stage.
“We sent Taka (Takamoto Katsuta) without a spare tyre, trying to make the car as light as possible. Taka had new tyres. We basically did everything we could, calculating what needed to be done. If Thierry was fast, we needed to finish second and third – we just had to be ahead of Mikkelsen” Latvala explained of the meticulous planning.
“We worked it all out and gave the strategy to Taka: he could go flat out. Ogier, I knew, would be strong in these kinds of situations because he has the experience of world championships. I told him, ‘You can push, push, push’,” Latvala added.
Ogier did just that, taking the Power Stage win. Afterward, all that remained was for rally leader Elfyn Evans to make it to the finish line safely.
Ogier was well aware of the stakes. The Frenchman had endured a tough season, including several low points. After Rally Finland, Ogier seemed poised to secure his ninth career world championship, but a series of critical mistakes dashed his hopes. On the final stage in Japan, however, Ogier redeemed himself by delivering a flawless performance.
“He was preparing in the service park, I can tell you. He was watching the stage, correcting the notes with Vincent (Landais) . He prepared very, very carefully to improve his driving from the morning,” Latvala revealed.
This season saw Toyota endure several “black Sundays,” but this time the tables turned, and Hyundai bore the brunt of misfortune.
“We got a bit of luck. Thierry had a problem with the car, Andreas went off, and then Ott went off. So, our performance wasn’t the best. But avoiding mistakes and having strong cars actually helped us in this event,” Latvala reflected.
