2022 Rally Japan

The 2022 Rally Japan (also known as the FORUM8 Rally Japan 2022) was a motor racing event for rally cars held over four days between 10 and 13 November 2022.^[2] It marked the seventh running of the Rally Japan. The event was the final round of the 2022 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2022 event was based in Nagoya in Chūbu Region and was contested over nineteen special stages covering a total competitive distance of 283.27 km (176.02 mi).^[1]

2022 Rally Japan FORUM8 Rally Japan 2022
Round 13 of 13 in the 2022 World Rally Championship ← Previous event
Rally Japan returned to the calendar after 2010.
Host country	Japan
Rally base	Toyota, Aichi, Chūbu region
Dates run	10 – 13 November 2022
Start location	Toyota, Aichi, Chūbu region
Finish location	Ena, Gifu, Chūbu region
Stages	19 (283.27 km; 176.02 miles)[1]
Stage surface	Tarmac
Transport distance	681.98 km (423.76 miles)
Overall distance	965.25 km (599.78 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered	38
Crews	36 at start, 32 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 2:43:52.3
Power Stage winner	Craig Breen James Fulton M-Sport Ford WRT 5:20.5
Support category results
WRC-2 winner	Grégoire Munster Louis Louka 2:51:43.1
WRC-3 winner	No classified finishers.

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are the defending rally winners.^[3] However, Ingrassia would not defend his title as he retired from the sport at the end of 2021 season.^[4] Citroën Total World Rally Team, the team they drove for in 2010, when the Rally Japan held a World Rally Championship event last time, are the defending manufacturers' winners, but they would not be defending their titles after parent company Citroën withdrew from the sport.^[5]

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe won their second rally of the season. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the manufacturer's winners.^[6] Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen clinched the WRC-2 titles.^[7]

Background

Entry list

The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, and privateer entries that are not registered to score points in any championship. Eleven were entered under Rally1 regulations, as are seventeen Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2.^[8][9]

Rally1 entries competing in the World Rally Championship

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Championship eligibility	Tyre
1	Sébastien Ogier	Vincent Landais	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris 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	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
9	Jourdan Serderidis	Frédéric Miclotte	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver	—
11	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	—
18	Takamoto Katsuta	Aaron Johnston	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer/Team	P
33	Elfyn Evans	Scott Martin	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
42	Craig Breen	James Fulton	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
44	Gus Greensmith	Jonas Andersson	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma 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	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Maciej Szczepaniak	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Driver, Co-driver	P
21	Emil Lindholm	Reeta Hämäläinen	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Junior Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
22	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	Hyundai Motorsport N	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
23	Sami Pajari	Enni Mälkönen	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Junior Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
24	Grégoire Munster	Louis Louka	Grégoire Munster	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Junior Driver, Junior Co-driver	P
25	Bruno Bulacia	Gabriel Morales	Toksport WRT 2	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Junior Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
26	Sean Johnston	Alexander Kihurani	Saintéloc Junior Team	Citroën C3 Rally2	Driver, Co-driver	P
27	Fabrizio Zaldivar	Marcelo Der Ohannesian	Hyundai Motorsport N	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Junior Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
28	Mauro Miele	Luca Beltrame	Toksport WRT 2	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Masters Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
29	Heikki Kovalainen	Sae Kitagawa	Heikki Kovalainen	Škoda Fabia R5	Driver, Co-driver	P
30	Osamu Fukunaga	Misako Saida	Osamu Fukunaga	Škoda Fabia R5	Masters Driver, Co-driver	P
31	Toshi Arai	Naoya Tanaka	Toshi Arai	Citroën C3 Rally2	Masters Driver, Co-driver	P
32	Luke Anear	Stuart Loudon	Luke Anear	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Driver, Co-driver	P
34	Jean-Michel Raoux	Laurent Magat	Jean-Michel Raoux	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	Masters Driver, Masters Co-driver	P
35	Eamonn Boland	Michael Joseph Morrissey	Eamonn Boland	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Masters Driver, Masters Co-driver	P
36	Frédéric Rosati	Patrick Chiappe	Frédéric Rosati	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Masters Driver, Co-driver	P
37	Satoshi Imai	Shizuka Takehara	Satoshi Imai	Citroën C3 Rally2	Driver, Co-driver	P

Other major entries

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Tyre
40	Hiroki Arai	Ilka Minor	Ahead Japan Racing Team	Peugeot 208 Rally4	P

Itinerary

All dates and times are JST (UTC+9).

Date	Time	No.	Stage name	Distance
10 November	9:01	—	Kuragaike Park Reverse [Shakedown]	2.80 km
	17:38	SS1	Kuragaike Park	2.75 km
11 November	7:02	SS2	Isegami's Tunnel 1	23.29 km
	8:00	SS3	Inabu Dam 1	19.38 km
	8:58	SS4	Shitara Town R 1	22.44 km
	13:31	SS5	Isegami's Tunnel 2	23.29 km
	14:29	SS6	Inabu Dam 2	19.38 km
	15:27	SS7	Shitara Town R 2	22.44 km
12 November	7:07	SS8	Nukata Forest 1	20.56 km
	8:08	SS9	Lake Mikawako 1	14.74 km
	9:03	SS10	Shinshiro City	7.08 km
	12:37	SS11	Nukata Forest 2	20.56 km
	13:38	SS12	Lake Mikawako 2	14.74 km
	15:36	SS13	Okazaki City SSS 1	1.40 km
	15:49	SS14	Okazaki City SSS 2	1.40 km
13 November	8:08	SS15	Asahi Kougen 1	7.52 km
	9:12	SS16	Ena City 1	21.59 km
	10:10	SS17	Nenoue Plateau	11.60 km
	11:48	SS18	Ena City 2	21.59 km
	14:18	SS19	Asahi Kougen 2 [Power Stage]	7.52 km
Source:[1]

Report

WRC Rally1

Classification

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class								Event	Stage
1	1	11	Thierry Neuville	Martijn Wydaeghe	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	2:43:52.3	0.0	25	2
2	2	8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	2:45:03.4	+1:11.1	18	0
3	3	18	Takamoto Katsuta	Aaron Johnston	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:46:03.6	+2:11.3	15	0
4	4	1	Sébastien Ogier	Vincent Landais	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:46:15.9	+2:23.6	12	0
5	5	33	Elfyn Evans	Scott Martin	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:47:57.4	+4:05.1	10	0
6	6	44	Gus Greensmith	Jonas Andersson	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	2:47:59.7	+4:07.4	8	0
12	7	69	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:54:33.1	+10:40.8	0	0
24	8	42	Craig Breen	James Fulton	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	3:17:14.5	+33:22.2	0	5
Retired SS2		6	Dani Sordo	Cándido Carrera	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Fire		0	0
Did not start		9	Jourdan Serderidis	Frédéric Miclotte	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Withdrawn		0	0
Did not start		16	Adrien Fourmaux	Alexandre Coria	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Withdrawn		0	0

Special stages

Stage	Winners	Car	Time	Class leaders
SD	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	2:04.6	—
SS1	Ogier / Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:07.0	Ogier / Landais
SS2	Rovanperä / Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	17:44.6	Rovanperä / Halttunen
SS3	Stage cancelled
SS4	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	14:23.3	Evans / Martin Neuville / Wydaeghe
SS5	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	10:38.0	Evans / Martin
SS6	Rovanperä / Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	12:18.9
SS7	Stage cancelled
SS8	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	14:17.1	Evans / Martin
SS9	Ogier / Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	10:26.5
SS10	Tänak / Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	3:31.5
SS11	Ogier / Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	14:06.9
SS12	Ogier / Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	10:18.2	Neuville / Wydaeghe
SS13	Stage cancelled
SS14	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	1:18.8	Neuville / Wydaeghe
SS15	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	4:49.5
SS16	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	15:38.7
SS17	Ogier / Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	7:45.1
SS18	Breen / Fulton	Ford Puma Rally1	17:42.1
SS19	Breen / Fulton	Ford Puma Rally1	5:20.5

Championship standings

• Bold text indicates 2022 World Champions.

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships				Manufacturers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points
1			Kalle Rovanperä	255			Jonne Halttunen	255			Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	525
2			Ott Tänak	205			Martin Järveoja	205			Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	455
3			Thierry Neuville	193			Martijn Wydaeghe	193			M-Sport Ford WRT	257
4			Elfyn Evans	134			Scott Martin	134			Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG	138
5			Takamoto Katsuta	122			Aaron Johnston	122

WRC-2 Rally2

Classification

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class								Class	Stage	Event
7	1	24	Grégoire Munster	Louis Louka	Grégoire Munster	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	2:51:43.1	0.0	25	0	6
8	2	22	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	Hyundai Motorsport N	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	2:52:04.7	+21.6	18	2	4+3
9	3	21	Emil Lindholm	Reeta Hämäläinen	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:52:17.9	+34.8	15	0	2
10	4	29	Heikki Kovalainen	Sae Kitagawa	Heikki Kovalainen	Škoda Fabia R5	2:52:52.1	+1:09.0	12	0	1
11	5	23	Sami Pajari	Enni Mälkönen	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:52:53.1	+1:10.0	10	0	0
13	6	26	Sean Johnston	Alexander Kihurani	Saintéloc Junior Team	Citroën C3 Rally2	2:54:45.8	+3:02.7	8	0	0
14	7	28	Mauro Miele	Luca Beltrame	Toksport WRT 2	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:56:25.8	+4:42.7	6	3	0+4
16	8	30	Osamu Fukunaga	Misako Saida	Osamu Fukunaga	Škoda Fabia R5	3:01:55.5	+10:42.4	4	0	0
17	9	35	Eamonn Boland	Michael Joseph Morrissey	Eamonn Boland	Ford Fiesta Rally2	3:02:34.3	+10:51.2	2	0	0
18	10	32	Luke Anear	Stuart Loudon	Luke Anear	Ford Fiesta Rally2	3:05:19.4	+13:36.3	1	0	0
19	11	25	Bruno Bulacia	Gabriel Morales	Toksport WRT 2	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	3:05:58.2	+14:15.1	0	0	0
22	12	37	Satoshi Imai	Shizuka Takehara	Satoshi Imai	Citroën C3 Rally2	3:15:22.6	+23:39.5	0	0	0
25	13	36	Frédéric Rosati	Patrick Chiappe	Frédéric Rosati	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	3:19:43.1	+28:00.0	0	0	0
29	14	27	Fabrizio Zaldivar	Marcelo Der Ohannesian	Hyundai Motorsport N	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	3:44:44.5	+53:01.4	0	1	0+1
32	15	34	Jean-Michel Raoux	Laurent Magat	Jean-Michel Raoux	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	3:55:34.7	+1:03:51.6	0	0	0
Retired SS2		20	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Maciej Szczepaniak	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Crash		0	0	0
Retired SS1		31	Toshi Arai	Naoya Tanaka	Toshi Arai	Citroën C3 Rally2	Crash		0	0	0

Special stages

Stage	Open Championship				Junior Championship				Masters Cup
	Winners	Car	Time	Class leaders	Winners	Car	Time	Class leaders	Winners	Car	Time	Class leaders
SD	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:09.0	—	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:09.0	—	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:14.4	—
SS1	Lindholm / Hämäläinen Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:11.0	Lindholm / Hämäläinen Pajari / Mälkönen	Lindholm / Hämäläinen Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:11.0	Lindholm / Hämäläinen Pajari / Mälkönen	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:20.0	Miele / Beltrame
SS2	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	18:08.6	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	18:08.6	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Stage interrupted
SS3	Stage cancelled
SS4	Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	15:08.6	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	15:08.6	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Stage interrupted
SS5	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	11:08.6		Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	11:08.6		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	11:46.6	Miele / Beltrame
SS6	Suninen / Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	12:50.2	Pajari / Mälkönen	Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	12:51.4	Pajari / Mälkönen	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	13:29.3
SS7	Stage cancelled
SS8	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	14:58.2	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	14:58.2	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	15:37.6	Miele / Beltrame
SS9	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	10:53.2		Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	10:53.2		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	11:28.4
SS10	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	3:44.2		Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	3:44.2		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	3:56.3
SS11	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	14:41.4		Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	14:41.4		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	15:35.7
SS12	Suninen / Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	10:45.5		Munster / Louka	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	10:51.9		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	11:19.7
SS13	Stage cancelled
SS14	Suninen / Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	1:20.8	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	1:22.1	Lindholm / Hämäläinen	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	1:28.2	Miele / Beltrame
SS15	Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	5:07.8		Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	5:07.8		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	5:19.5
SS16	Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	16:23.6		Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	16:23.6		Rosati / Chiappe	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	17:20.3
SS17	Suninen / Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	8:13.9		Pajari / Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	8:15.3		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	8:28.1
SS18	Munster / Louka	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	18:28.4	Munster / Louka	Munster / Louka	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	18:28.4	Munster / Louka	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	18:52.7
SS19	Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	5:32.3		Munster / Louka	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	5:49.6		Miele / Beltrame	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	5:32.3

Championship standings

• Bold text indicates 2022 World Champions.

Pos.		Open Drivers' championships				Open Co-drivers' championships				Teams' championships				Junior Drivers' championships				Junior Co-drivers' championships				Driver Masters' championships				Co-driver Masters' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Driver	Points
1		1	Emil Lindholm	116		1	Reeta Hämäläinen	116		1	Toksport WRT	188			Emil Lindholm	144			James Fulton	136		1	Mauro Miele	129			Laurent Magat	143
2		1	Andreas Mikkelsen	109		1	Torstein Eriksen	109		1	Hyundai Motorsport N	186			Nikolay Gryazin	104			Louis Louka	111		1	Armin Kremer	125			Michael Joseph Morrissey	86
3			Kajetan Kajetanowicz	104			Maciej Szczepaniak	104			Toksport WRT 2	156			Chris Ingram	92			Samu Vaaleri	65			Jean-Michel Raoux	95			Michela Lorigiola	48
4			Yohan Rossel	98			Konstantin Aleksandrov	85			Yaco ACCR Team	50			Fabrizio Zaldivar	78			Elia De Guio	25			Freddy Loix	83			Hans van Goor	43
5			Nikolay Gryazin	85			Valentin Sarreaud	69			Saintéloc Junior Team	40			Mikołaj Marczyk	67			Alejandro López Fernández	12		3	Eamonn Boland	59			Jörgen Fornander	25

WRC-3 Rally3

No Rally3 crews entered the round.

Championship standings

• Bold text indicates 2022 World Champions.

Pos.		Open Drivers' championships				Open Co-drivers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points
1			Lauri Joona	111			Enni Mälkönen	87
2			Jan Černý	104			Mikael Korhonen	86
3			Sami Pajari	87			Tamás Kürti	73
4			Zoltán László	73			Liam Regan	63
5			William Creighton	63			Manuel Fenoli	48