With the manufacturer’s and driver’s titles both wrapped up, Toyota had plenty to celebrate as they arrived at the final round of the 2023 season. Tough conditions on the tarmac rally saw awful visibility and plenty of mistakes, but the drivers bravely soldiered on to try and end the season on a high.
DAY 1/2
Thursday kicked off with a Super Special Stage at Toyota Stadium in Aichi, with the drivers competing in a head to head opening event. Thierry Neuville would start as he meant to go on, beating Kalle Rovanpera to set the fastest time on the stage, in front of Hyundai teammate Esapekka Lappi and Ford’s Ott Tanak.
The heavens opened on Friday, with home hero Takamoto Katsuta the first to be caught out by the tricky conditions. Katsuta slid off the road and hit a tree, causing radiator damage and costing him time and positions. However, he would complete the stage in EV mode and was able to continue on in the rally, albeit 5 minutes off the lead by the end of Stage 3. Remarkably, Katsuta would win Stages 5, 6, and 7 and finish second in Stage 8.
The same corner continued to be a menace for the drivers, as the experienced Dani Sordo and returning Adrien Formaux both went off at the same corner. Neither would be as lucky as Katsuta, and both were forced to retire. As the weather got worse, Stage 4 was cancelled.
Later on in the day, the weather would still be causing havoc. Newly crowned champion Rovanpera struggled with being the first on the stage as he ended the day in third, 2 minutes behind his Toyota teammate and rally leader Elfyn Evans with Sebastian Ogier separating the two despite having an impact with a barrier. Ogier would incur a 1 minute penalty for being late out of service, leaving him almost 2 minutes behind Evans. Elsewhere, Tanak’s windscreen fogged up and caused him to lose a lot of time and he ended the day in 8th, 4 minutes down on Evans and behind 3 Rally2 cars.
But at least Tanak made it to the end of the day in one piece; the same could not be said for the winner of the 2022 running of Rally Japan, Thierry Neuville. The Belgian was chasing Evans down for the lead of the rally when he hit a tree just seconds into stage 6, causing him to retire.
Day 3
Saturday saw Toyota nearly win all 8 stages, with Hyundai’s Lappi denying them a clean sweep on the last stage of the day. After a disappointing Friday, Katsuta would win 4 stages to catapult himself back into 6th and within touching distance of Tanak, who was affected by snow that was starting to fall. The weather would also affect Rovanpera, who had to deal with hail.
There would be no change at the top though, as Evans still held a commanding lead from his two Toyota teammates Ogier and Rovanpera. Lappi’s stage win helped him stay in fourth, just 26 seconds ahead of Tanak in 5th, who was 15 seconds ahead of Katsuta in 6th.
Day 4
Katsuta gave it everything on the final day to try and secure a 1-2-3-4 finish for Toyota, and the first hurdle fell as he overtook Tanak with a win on Stage 19. Tanak had made a mistake, spinning off the road as he struggled for grip, but Lappi would provide no such gifts for Katsuta. Katsuta would halve the gap by the end of the day, but Lappi would hold on to 4th by 20 seconds.
Neuville won the power stage after his car was prepared, but no one could get close to Elfyn Evans. The Welshman won by over a minute as Toyota swept the podium with Ogier second and Rovanpera third.
Toyota had plenty to celebrate this year, and a podium sweep at their home event was the cherry on the cake. Having won the manufacturer’s title for the 3rd time in a row and the driver’s title for the 5th time in a row, we could be in the middle of a dynasty.
For the drivers and teams though, all that matters is next year. With Rovanpera only competing on a partial basis in 2024, the stage is set for a new driver to make their mark on the World Rally Championship.
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