Chris Ingram incredibly set the fastest time on the final shakedown stage of the 2024 World Rally Championship season at Rally Japan, driving a Rally2-spec Toyota GR Yaris.
For the first time since Sardinia in June, just eight Rally1 cars are taking the start in Japan, but six of those drivers have a championship showdown to concern themselves over – and some of them have two to fight for.
The first action was staged on the Kuragaike Park shakedown, which was incredibly slippery for the competing crews – particularly on the first pass.
“Time will tell how things are feeling but very slippy start here,” Elfyn Evans described, “no grip at all.
“We expected it to be difficult but not quite that bad.”
Despite kissing a kerb towards the end of the test, world championship leader Thierry Neuville was quickest on the opening pass by 0.2 seconds over Hyundai team-mate Tänak – who is now the only one who can deny Neuville a maiden world title.
Tänak replied with the fastest time on the second pass that looked to have stood for the entire session, only for a late run by recently crowned British Rally champion Ingram to move him ahead by 0.4s on the final timesheet.
Tänak though was quickest of the Rally1 machines – 0.4s up on Adrien Fourmaux as Neuville faded to sixth.
But in terms of the championship, it’s advantage Neuville who – with a 25-point series lead – needs just six points from the weekend to claim the 2024 title.
Tänak and Neuville are the only drivers left in championship contention
“Looking forward to the end of the rally first of all,” Neuville commented. “We have our targets clear in mind.
“As a team, obviously we want to bring home both championships, so we need to find the right balance between pushing and managing the gaps.”
The manufacturers’ championship appears to be more on Tänak’s mind. Hyundai leads Toyota by 15 points in that contest.
“It’s going to be a big attack weekend I guess from everyone,” Tänak said. “Toyota has a big target and so do we, we definitely want to defend them so let’s see how it works out.”
Sébastien Ogier had looked to be second fastest for Toyota but the two M-Sport drivers – who set three competitive runs of shakedown to two by the others – lifted them out of obscurity to third and seventh respectively.
Ogier ended sandwiched between them in fourth: “We have to finish with a very strong rally for the team and try to turn it around for the manufacturers’ championship,” he said. “We still have this chance so that’s the motivation for the weekend.”
Fourmaux found the shakedown conditions tricky but promised: “We’re going to try our best anyway. The pressure will be interesting with the championship title [fight] at the front, so let’s see.”
In the other Puma Rally1, Grégoire Munster was initially beaten by several of the Rally2 cars as he revealed a handbrake issue towards the end of the first pass. But his third run put him 0.4s shy of Toyota’s home hero Takamoto Katsuta who was fifth quickest.
Team-mate Evans’ best effort was just 0.1s off champion elect Neuville, but of the Rally1 runners the Welshman was only faster than Andreas Mikkelsen as the Hyundai driver appeared a touch concerned by his road position of eighth (last of the Rally1 cars) after finding “a lot of mud and gravel being pulled out from the cars ahead” on the first pass of shakedown.
“If this is to be the weekend we have a lot of action ahead of us,” he laughed nervously. “But the stages should be better.”
Behind Ingram’s effort in WRC2 came Hiroki Arai, Heikki Kovalainen and Nikolay Gryazin, whose Citroën is sporting an Initial D-inspired livery this weekend.
Ingram opted for three runs of shakedown while most of his rivals did two, but the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 pilot was a mighty sixth fastest overall – level with Neuville’s Rally1 Hyundai.
Championship contender Sami Pajari meanwhile was only eighth quickest (after setting just one time) in WRC2 on a weekend where a first or second place finish would earn him the 2024 title.
“Feeling is quite nice for the moment and seems like the weather is also about to be a bit more consistent,” Pajari said.
“It’s never until it’s very over; anyway, there are tough guys against us. But I just do my thing and then we see what happens.”
