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]
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
Entry list
The 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]
Rally1 entries competing in the World Rally Championship | No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Championship eligibility | Tyre |
| 4 |  Esapekka Lappi | Janne Ferm |  Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 6 |  Dani Sordo | Cándido Carrera | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 8 |  Ott Tänak | Martin Järveoja |  M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Puma Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 11 | .svg.png) Thierry Neuville | Martijn Wydaeghe | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 16 |  Adrien Fourmaux | Alexandre Coria | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Puma Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 17 | Sébastien Ogier | Vincent Landais |  Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 18 | Takamoto Katsuta |  Aaron Johnston | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver | P |
| 33 | Elfyn Evans | Scott Martin | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
| 69 | Kalle Rovanperä | Jonne Halttunen | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer | P |
Rally2 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-2 | No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Championship eligibility | Tyre |
| 20 |  Andreas Mikkelsen | Torstein Eriksen |  Toksport WRT 3 | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Driver, Team | P |
| 21 | _WA.svg.png) Nikolay Gryazin[a] | Konstantin Aleksandrov[b] | Toksport WRT 3 | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team | P |
| 22 |  Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Maciej Szczepaniak | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | Sae Kitagawa | Heikki Kovalainen | Škoda Fabia R5 | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team | P |
| 25 | Daniel Chwist | Kamil Heller | Daniel Chwist | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 26 | Osamu Fukunaga | Misako Saida | Osamu Fukunaga | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 27 | Alexander Villanueva | José Murado González | Alexander Villanueva | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver | — |
| 28 | Eamonn Boland | Michael Joseph Morrissey | Eamonn Boland | Citroën C3 Rally2 | Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver | P |
| 29 | Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz | Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio | Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 30 | Satoshi Imai |  Jason Farmer | Satoshi Imai | Citroën C3 Rally2 | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
Itinerary
All 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
WRC Rally1
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
- Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.
WRC-2 Rally2
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
- Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.
WRC-3 Rally3
Classification
| Position | | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | | Points |
| Event | Class |
| 22 | 1 | 55 | Jason Bailey | Shayne Peterson | Jason Bailey | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 5:03:05.7 | 0.0 | 25 |
Special stages
Championship standings
- Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.
| | | 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
- ^ 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
External links
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Categories within the World Rally Championship |
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Teams and drivers that are eligible to score manufacturer points |
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Jason Bailey
Grégoire Munster