Needing at least 25 points to stand any chance of a World Rally Championship title steal, Ott Tänak faced the longest of long odds. Even if Tänak did amass a total that high (which he hasn’t since Sardinia in June), all Thierry Neuville had to do was collect six points and the prize was his.
Yet, the two Hyundai men finished Friday of the Rally Japan finale in polarizing positions. Tänak doing everything he had to; Neuville doing everything he had to give Tänak the championship.
Tänak is first; Neuville 15th.
Neuville’s being forced to win this one the hard way – fitting, really, given his long history of coming so close to winning the world title. An issue with the wastegate of the turbocharger aboard his Hyundai has robbed him of any speed and left him languishing almost eight minutes behind his team-mate and title rival.
Simultaneously, that’s harmed Hyundai’s mission to secure a title double in Japan – particularly when you factor in Andreas Mikkelsen’s crash into a tree on SS6.
But Neuville and Hyundai remain title favorites, even if they’ve had the most trying of days.
Friday was a difficult day for Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe – but the drivers' title outcome is still in their hands regardless
Had the points system not changed over the off-season, Neuville’s title position would be far more precarious.
With a deficit of almost two minutes to 10th place, Neuville should be able to climb back up into the top 10 with a healthy Hyundai tomorrow, given the cars ahead are less powerful Rally2 machines. Essentially then the world title would have boiled down to a shootout on the powerstage.
But with Super Sunday points also on offer, Neuville still has a buffer. Those vital six points he needs this weekend are still within reach, but the pressure is mounting given Tänak is living up to his end of the bargain.
It’s not often Neuville would describe himself as “deflated”, but the mental toll the situation is taking on him is obvious.
“I’m obviously disappointed, I’m probably not the only one,” Neuville told DirtFish.
“I think the whole team is disappointed about the happenings of the day because obviously things are not going according to plan for us at the moment. Despite having a guy in the lead, it could have been one-two.
“But yeah, I think we kicked off very well on a good rhythm. Felt comfortable, started already taking out some speed after SS2 basically. And we’re in a comfortable position where we could have managed the pace throughout the whole weekend.
Tänak insists his focus hasn't shifted amid Neuville's power issues
“Yeah, I mean, what you can do? If the car doesn’t run, it doesn’t run.
“Tomorrow we do the maximum we can to come back to the best possible position. But obviously, driving five and a half stages without any power, we lost minutes and I think seven or eight already. What you can do?”
Tänak has continuously stressed that the manufacturers’ championship is all he’s focusing on, and despite Neuville’s turmoil that remains the party line.
“We always had the same focus,” Tänak told DirtFish. “We need to stay ahead of Toyota, that’s for sure.”
When it was pointed out to him that his drivers’ title bid is now looking far more realistic, Tänak quipped: “So what can I do differently about that? It’s difficult to go further than first, so yeah, what else can we do?”
Fundamentally Tänak is right – and securing first position from Saturday’s classification would be a killer blow to Toyota’s hopes. Trailing Hyundai by 15 points, it can overtake its rival with a perfect score from the weekend, but Tänak is the issue in that regard.
Sébastien Ogier puncturing on Friday’s first stage, and Takamoto Katsuta also knocking a tire off the rim, immediately put Toyota on the back foot, but it did at least have Elfyn Evans in the race – and indeed he led after the morning. But the Welshman dropped 20.9s behind Tänak at day’s end.
Sébastien Ogier admitted he'd struggled for motivation in the stage miles immediately after his SS2 puncture
“It’s not the rally we were hoping for,” Ogier told DirtFish.
“It’s hard, of course, to find motivation when you are straight away out of the fight for the win on the first stage of the rally, the first real stage of the rally.
“Well, at least we climbed some positions. Still a long way to go. Let’s see if we can still climb some.”
Anything is still possible, but Toyota’s options are running out. Its manufacturers’ bid, and indeed Neuville’s drivers’ title pursuit, have been complicated by the Friday performance of one man: Ott Tänak.
