Elfyn Evans won in Rally Japan 2024while Toyota took the manufacturers' title in a thrilling Power Stage, and Thierry Neuville certified its first crown. The Welshman took victory after Ott Tanak lost a comfortable lead of more than half a minute, giving his Belgian teammate first place in the championship.
The Estonian gave a Let's turn to the battle between Hyundai and Toyotasince the eleven point advantage disappeared, and both reached the Power Stage tied, but it was the Japanese who won the fight.
Elfyn Evans took rally victory by over a minute Sébastien Ogierwhile Adrien Fourmaux He capped his fine season with a fifth podium finish in third, nearly two minutes behind, but the Japanese country's relentless, twisting asphalt stages once again provided a demanding test.
Until his accident on Sunday, Ott Tanak was the leader as the 2019 world champion did everything he could to keep his slim title hopes alive. He took the lead at the end of the second stage, before losing the lead to Elfyn Evans, after his teammates Sébastien Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta suffered punctures.
The Frenchman lost two minutes changing wheels, while the Japanese was able to take care of his GR Yaris to the end, losing only a minute, although the problems seemed to tip the battle for the constructors' title to Hyundai. Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville were in the lead after the third special, before the tragedy took its toll on the Belgian. due to a sudden loss of power caused by a turbo failure in the i20 N.
With only one tire fitting zone in Friday's loops, the Belgian was unable to resolve the setback and therefore lost more than seven minutes, which made it fall to 15th positionand was excluded from positions that were eligible for points. The Estonian made his first serious move in the fifth stage, gaining a big advantage over the Welshman to take a comfortable lead of around twenty seconds.
Elfyn Evans responded to Ott Tanak's impressive pace on Saturday morning to close the gap to fifteen secondswhich was canceled before the Estonian or Welshman could take the stage due to an unauthorized vehicle skipping a security check and entering the road. The GR Yaris's cornering difficulties halted the Toyota driver's attack in the afternoon, which, combined with the impressive times of his rivals, left him more than half a minute ahead on Sunday .
Sébastien Ogier set a good pace to move up to third, ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Takamoto Katsuta, the latter after recovering from a spin which cost the local hero victory. Grégoire Munster was also fast and placed sixth, ahead of Thierry Neuville, who made an impressive comeback.
The battle for rally victory and for the drivers' and constructors' titles took a turn after stage 17, during which Ott Tanak suffered an accident and certified the title for his teammate, while Elfyn Evans inherited the lead.. The Welshman kept his cool and took victory to secure second place, while Toyota took the manufacturers' crown in the Power Stage.
Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen They gave everything in the last stage, the latter crashing into a tree, but it was not enough to secure the title, while Sébastien Ogier took victory in this special, with the Welshman third and Takamoto Katsuta fourth, which was enough. for the manufacturer.
In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin won his third victory of 2024but it was Sami Pajari who sealed the title after finishing the rally with a second place.
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