The 2023 Rally Japan (also known as the FORUM8 Rally Japan 2023) was a motor racing event for rally cars held from 16 to 19 November 2023.[2] It marked the eighth running of the Rally Japan, and was the final round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The event was based in Nagoya in Chūbu Region and was contested over twenty-two special stages covering a total competitive distance of 304.66 km (189.31 mi).[1]
| 2023 Rally Japan FORUM8 Rally Japan 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
Round 13 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship
| ||
 The event would be featured with route through Toyota Stadium. | ||
| Host country |  Japan | |
| Rally base | Toyota, Aichi Prefecture | |
| Dates run | 16 – 19 November 2023 | |
| Start location | Toyota Stadium, Toyota | |
| Finish location | Toyota Stadium, Toyota | |
| Stages | 22 (304.66 km; 189.31 miles)[1] | |
| Stage surface | Tarmac | |
| Transport distance | 665.09 km (413.27 miles) | |
| Overall distance | 969.75 km (602.57 miles) | |
| Statistics | ||
| Crews registered | 36 | |
| Crews | 34 at start, 28 at finish | |
| Cancellation | SS4 cancelled due to safety concern. | |
| Overall results | ||
| Overall winner |  Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT3:32:08.8 | |
| Power Stage winner |  Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT4:48.8 | |
| Support category results | ||
| WRC-2 winner |  Andreas Mikkelsen Torstein Eriksen Toksport WRT 33:39:42.5 | |
| WRC-3 winner |  Jason Bailey Shayne Peterson5:03:05.7 | |
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were the defending rally winners. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners.[3] Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category.[4]
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin won their second rally of the season. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturer's winners.[5] Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak won the 2023 WRC-2 Challenger title.[6] Jason Bailey and Shayne Peterson won the World Rally Championship-3 category.
Background
editEntry list
editThe following crews entered into the rally. The event was opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3 and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Nine entered under Rally1 regulations, as were ten Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2 and one Rally3 crew in the World Rally Championship-3.[7][8]
| No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Jason Bailey
|
Shayne Peterson
|
Jason Bailey
|
Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 |  Grégoire Munster
|
Louis Louka
|
M-Sport Ford WRT
|
Ford Fiesta Rally2 | P |
Itinerary
editAll dates and times are JST (UTC+9).
| Date | No. | Time span | Stage name | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 November | — | After 9:01 | Kuragaike Park [Shakedown] | 2.75 km |
|
After 18:52 | Opening ceremony, Toyota Stadium | — | |
| SS1 | After 19:05 | Toyota Stadium SSS 1 | 2.10 km | |
| 17 November | 
|
5:34 – 5:49 | Service A, Toyota Stadium | — |
| SS2 | After 7:04 | Isegami's Tunnel 1 | 23.60 km | |
| SS3 | After 8:04 | Inabu Dam 1 | 19.38 km | |
| SS4 | After 9:02 | Shitara Town 1 | 22.53 km | |
|
11:11 – 11:41 | Regroup, Toyota Stadium | — | |
|
|
11:41 – 12:21 | Service B, Toyota Stadium | — | |
| SS5 | After 13:36 | Isegami's Tunnel 2 | 23.60 km | |
| SS6 | After 14:36 | Inabu Dam 2 | 19.38 km | |
| SS7 | After 15:34 | Shitara Town 2 | 22.53 km | |
|
|
18:03 – 18:48 | Flexi service C, Toyota Stadium | — | |
| SS8 | After 19:35 | Toyota Stadium SSS 2 | 2.10 km | |
| 18 November |
|
6:45 – 7:00 | Service D, Toyota Stadium | — |
| SS9 | After 8:04 | Nukata Forest 1 | 20.32 km | |
| SS10 | After 9:05 | Lake Mikawako 1 | 14.78 km | |
|
|
10:45 – 11:05 | Regroup, Okazaki | — | |
| SS11 | After 11:15 | Okazaki City SSS 1 | 3.18 km | |
| SS12 | After 11:26 | Okazaki City SSS 2 | 3.18 km | |
|
|
11:31 – 12:16 | Regroup, Okazaki | — | |
|
12:16 – 12:31 | Tyre fitting zone, Okazaki | — | |
| SS13 | After 13:04 | Nukata Forest 2 | 20.32 km | |
| SS14 | After 14:05 | Lake Mikawako 2 | 14.78 km | |
| SS15 | After 15:11 | Shinshiro City | 6.70 km | |
|
|
17:01 – 17:46 | Flexi service E, Toyota Stadium | — | |
| SS16 | After 19:35 | Toyota Stadium SSS 3 | 2.10 km | |
| 19 November |
|
5:39 – 5:54 | Service F, Toyota Stadium | — |
| SS17 | After 7:05 | Asahi Kougen 1 | 7.52 km | |
| SS18 | After 8:03 | Ena City 1 | 22.92 km | |
| SS19 | After 8:56 | Nenoue Kougen 1 | 11.60 km | |
|
|
9:31 – 10:01 | Regroup, Nakatsugawa Park | — | |
|
|
10:01 – 10:31 | Tyre fitting zone, Nakatsugawa Park | — | |
| SS20 | After 11:04 | Ena City 2 | 22.92 km | |
| SS21 | After 11:57 | Nenoue Kougen 2 | 11.60 km | |
|
|
13:32 – 14:12 | Regroup, Asahi Government | — | |
| SS22 | After 14:15 | Asahi Kougen 2 [Power Stage] | 7.52 km | |
|
After 16:00 | Official finish, Toyota Stadium | — | |
| Source:[1] | ||||
Report
editWRC Rally1
editClassification
editSpecial stages
editChampionship standings
edit- Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 | 
|
Kalle Rovanperä | 250 |
|
Jonne Halttunen | 250 |
|
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | 548 | |||
| 2 |
|
Elfyn Evans | 216 |
|
Scott Martin | 216 |
|
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 432 | |||
| 3 |
|
Thierry Neuville | 189 |
|
Martijn Wydaeghe | 189 |
|
M-Sport Ford WRT | 287 | |||
| 4 |
|
Ott Tänak | 174 |
|
Martin Järveoja | 174 | ||||||
| 5 |
|
Sébastien Ogier | 133 |
|
Vincent Landais | 133 | ||||||
WRC-2 Rally2
editClassification
editSpecial stages
editChampionship standings
edit- Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.
| Pos. | Open Drivers' championships | Open Co-drivers' championships | Teams' championships | Challenger Drivers' championships | Challenger Co-drivers' championships | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | Move | Driver | Points | ||||||
| 1 |
|
Andreas Mikkelsen | 134 |
|
Torstein Eriksen | 130 |  1
|
Toksport WRT 3 | 207 | 1
|
Kajetan Kajetanowicz | 126 | 1
|
Maciej Szczepaniak | 126 | |||||
| 2 | 1
|
Gus Greensmith | 111 | 1
|
Jonas Andersson | 111 |  1
|
Toksport WRT 2 | 188 | 1
|
Nikolay Gryazin | 121 | 1
|
Konstantin Aleksandrov | 121 | |||||
| 3 | 1
|
Yohan Rossel | 104 | 1
|
Arnaud Dunand | 104 | 1
|
Toksport WRT | 135 | 2
|
Sami Pajari | 118 | 2
|
Enni Mälkönen | 118 | |||||
| 4 | 3
|
Nikolay Gryazin | 96 | 3
|
Konstantin Aleksandrov | 103 | 1
|
M-Sport Ford WRT | 131 | 1
|
Mikołaj Marczyk | 77 |
|
Szymon Gospodarczyk | 65 | |||||
| 5 | 1
|
Kajetan Kajetanowicz | 95 | 1
|
Maciej Szczepaniak | 98 |
|
Hyundai Motorsport N | 122 | 1
|
Marco Bulacia | 72 |
|
Diego Vallejo | 62 | |||||
WRC-3 Rally3
editClassification
edit| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | ||||||||
| 22 | 1 | 55 | Jason Bailey | Shayne Peterson | Jason Bailey | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 5:03:05.7 | 0.0 | 25 |
Special stages
edit| Stage | Winners | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 2:35.4 | — |
| SS1 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 2:21.0 | Bailey / Peterson |
| SS2 | Stage interrupted | |||
| SS3 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 16:53.4 | Bailey / Peterson |
| SS4 | Stage cancelled | |||
| SS5 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 24:13.5 | Bailey / Peterson |
| SS6 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 15:52.7 | |
| SS7 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 17:51.1 | |
| SS8 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 2:19.6 | |
| SS9 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 18:36.4 | |
| SS10 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 57:26.9 | |
| SS11 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:02.6 | |
| SS12 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:48.6 | |
| SS13 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 18:58.6 | |
| SS14 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 13:32.8 | |
| SS15 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 4:19.0 | |
| SS16 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 2:08.5 | |
| SS17 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 6:19.4 | |
| SS18 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 22:23.6 | |
| SS19 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 10:15.7 | |
| SS20 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 22:02.4 | |
| SS21 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 9:59.4 | |
| SS22 | Bailey / Peterson | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 6:00.7 | |
Championship standings
edit- Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | |||
| 1 |
|
Roope Korhonen | 100 |
|
Anssi Viinikka | 100 | ||
| 2 |
|
Diego Dominguez Jr. | 87 |
|
Rogelio Peñate | 87 | ||
| 3 | 8
|
Jason Bailey | 61 |
|
Loïc Dumont | 55 | ||
| 4 | 1
|
Tom Rensonnet | 55 |
|
Liam Regan | 51 | ||
| 5 | 1
|
Filip Kohn | 52 |
|
Conor Mohan | 49 | ||
Notes
edit- ^ Nikolay Gryazin is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the ANA flag as Russian national emblems were banned by the association due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9]
- ^ Konstantin Aleksandrov is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the ANA flag as Russian national emblems were banned by the association due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Itinerary Rally Japan 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "WRC poewrs into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Neuville prevails to clinch dramatic Japan win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "Lindholm claims WRC2 crown as Munster grabs surprise victory in Japan". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "Triumphant Evans leads home Toyota 1–2–3 in Japan". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Party time for Kajto as Pole secures WRC2 Challenger title in Japan*". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Entry list FORUM8 Rally Japan 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Rally Japan 2023". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ a b "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions in relation to the situation in Ukraine". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
External links
edit- Official website (in English and Japanese)
- 2023 Rally Japan at eWRC-results.com
- 2023 Rally Japan at rally-maps.com (in English, German, and Polish)