The new points system implemented for the 2024 World Rally Championship season has been heavily criticized, but what a finale it helped create.
The drivers’ title battle may have ended up being an anti-climax – over on the first stage of the final day – but the manufacturers’ battle went all the way to the 241st and last stage of the season.
In amidst all that, Elfyn Evans claimed his first and only win of the 2024 season to claim the runner-up spot in the championship – and of course Sami Pajari became WRC2 champion too!
There’s plenty to unpack from an event to truly remember, but here are the key things we learned from Rally Japan 2024:
Neuville has finally shaken his nearly-man tag
Neuville had it all to lose; Tänak had it all to gain.
Even if, as he told DirtFish on Saturday night, the drivers’ title was just “theoretical” and “media promotion trying to make a story out of anything”, his lead heading into the final day – coupled to Neuville’s turbo problem and lowly seventh place – meant this one was going all the way.
Neuville had dealt with the blow of his mechanical mishap like a champion – keeping his cool and not letting frustration boil over. Of course he had that handy pre-event advantage of 25 points to rely on, but there was no sign of a wobble.
In the end that came from Tänak in an accident which potentially cost him a drivers’ championship, and almost definitely Hyundai the manufacturers’ as well.
It was quite the juxtaposition of how these two characters can often be portrayed: Tänak the warrior; Neuville the choker. In Japan it was Tänak who faltered – a huge disappointment after what had been an epic performance – while by contrast, Neuville absorbed all the pressure and got the job done.
Some will point to the absence of Kalle Rovanperä as the reason Neuville was finally able to claim his long-awaited world title, but he can only beat what’s in front of him. Is Tänak any less of a champion because he beat Sébastien Ogier when he was dogged with a flawed Citroën? Or Colin McRae less worthy because Carlos Sainz skipped a round through injury?
Neuville looked ready to win this title ever since his statement drive at the Monte Carlo Rally in January. Rally Japan confirmed the inevitable, and finally shuns his nearly-man tag.
Toyota’s Sunday pain repays itself
Finland was the turning point, we thought.
Yes, Sébastien Ogier delivered Toyota yet another win on local turf, but Kalle Rovanperä’s unbelievable accident from the lead on the penultimate stage dealt Toyota a devastating blow in the manufacturers’ championship. Elfyn Evans’ crash on the very same stage was the nail in the coffin.
Hyundai had the break both teams had desperately been searching for, and its lead only grew when Ogier crashed on the powerstage in Greece. In the heat of the moment, Jari-Matti Latvala even went as far as to suggest Toyota’s title tilt was done. Then there was CER, where another Ogier crash restricted Toyota’s points gain.
And yet, in the most dramatic of circumstances in a final stage, powerstage thriller, it was Toyota that beat Hyundai to one of closest fought manufacturers championships the WRC has ever witnessed.
Tänak’s Sunday morning accident was the key, as it was then Hyundai’s turn to experience the pain of not only losing a car from the lead, but the 18 points their driver had reserved for Saturday too. And who else could it have been but Ogier, who has made a few mistakes in recent events, to step up when his team needed him most – beating Neuville to the powerstage win and triumphing for Toyota.
Rally leader Elfyn Evans just had to stroke it home and confirm the success. From a familiar feeling of Sunday sorrow to ballistic bliss. But credit to Hyundai – five wins to Toyota’s eight, it sussed out the importance of Sundays far quicker and would have been an equally deserving champion.
2024 title showdown a classic
Hopefully you can sense my excitement as I turn taps of the keyboards into words, sentences and summaries. I’m still not over it, are you? Take Rovanperä out of the equation, and what a championship you have!
Facetious comments aside, 2024 absolutely delivered. Neuville has seemed like the inevitable champion for a good while, but when the deal isn’t done you can never quite be certain. As anti-climactic as his eventual coronation was, it wasn’t half dramatic!
And then there’s the manufacturers’ battle. It’s never usually a fight that invigorates us as fans, but it was utterly unbelievable – particularly on the final day in Japan with protagonists Hyundai and Toyota level on points prior to the powerstage.
Even the other drivers were hooked: “Imagine…,” began M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux, “they were playing the championship in the last stage of the last rally, just with the power stage.
“Incredible. I think it’s historic!”
I agree. 2024, and especially the finale, will be remembered as a truly classic season.
Pajari takes another step towards stardom
It’s rare to see genuine flickers of emotion from Sami Pajari. His grab of the camera when he claimed his first WRC stage win at just the ninth time of asking in a Rally1 car was a moment; as was his rise to the roof of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and flex of the muscles.
Pajari becoming WRC2 champion doesn’t change the fact he has all the hallmarks of a future world champion. We knew that anyway. Instead it’s another accolade to add to an already-glittering CV – and confirmation that Toyota’s Rally2 car can cut the mustard, as Škoda was defeated for the time since 2020.
A top two finish in Japan was all Pajari needed to leap ahead of Oliver Solberg and take the title, and sensibly he didn’t get drawn into a battle with Nikolay Gryazin. Instead he just stuck to the script, overcame a Friday morning puncture and delivered.
The debate over whether Pajari or Solberg was the more deserving champion will inevitably divide us. In the end, they both won three rallies and crashed once, it was just Pajari’s extra podium finish (six to Solberg’s five) in Japan that sealed him the title by a mere three points.
Gryazin the new Tarmac WRC2 benchmark
His DG Sport Citroën team-mate Yohan Rossel was seen as the title contender, yet Nikolay Gryazin actually managed to leap ahead of him in the final WRC2 standings thanks to victory in Japan.
Gryazin’s performance in Japan was stellar – so good that nobody else stood a chance. Pajari was driving for a championship which will have impacted his pace, but Gryazin was quick enough to be untouchable regardless.
What it tells us is that he is the new benchmark when it comes to asphalt rallies in WRC2.
Previous thinking is Rossel was the man. Coupled with the C3 Rally2, the Frenchman has been the yardstick – and indeed produced a mega fightback to win the season-opener in Monte Carlo.
But since then, Gryazin’s been unbeaten on asphalt. Victory in Croatia preceded victory in Central Europe, preceded victory in Japan. Wonder if he also has a secret side hustle as a tofu delivery driver?
