2023 Rally Japan

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]

2023 Rally Japan FORUM8 Rally Japan 2023
Round 13 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship ← Previous event
The event would be featured with route through Toyota Stadium.
Host country	Japan
Rally base	Toyota, Aichi Prefecture
Dates run	16 – 19 November 2023
Start location	Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Finish location	Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Stages	22 (304.66 km; 189.31 miles)[1]
Stage surface	Tarmac
Transport distance	665.09 km (413.27 miles)
Overall distance	969.75 km (602.57 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered	36
Crews	34 at start, 28 at finish
Cancellation	SS4 cancelled due to safety concern.
Overall results
Overall winner	Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 3:32:08.8
Power Stage winner	Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 4:48.8
Support category results
WRC-2 winner	Andreas Mikkelsen Torstein Eriksen Toksport WRT 3 3:39:42.5
WRC-3 winner	Jason Bailey Shayne Peterson 5:03:05.7

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	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	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

Rally3 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-3

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Tyre
31	Jason Bailey	Shayne Peterson	Jason Bailey	Ford Fiesta Rally3	P

Other major entries

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Tyre
24	Grégoire Munster	Louis Louka	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta Rally2	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

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class								Event	Stage
1	1	33	Elfyn Evans	Scott Martin	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:32:08.8	0.0	25	0
2	2	17	Sébastien Ogier	Vincent Landais	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:33:26.5	+1:17.7	18	1
3	3	69	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:33:55.3	+1:46.5	15	0
4	4	4	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	3:34:59.1	+2:50.3	12	3
5	5	18	Takamoto Katsuta	Aaron Johnston	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:35:19.1	+3:10.3	10	2
6	6	8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	3:35:37.1	+3:28.3	8	4
13	7	11	Thierry Neuville	Martijn Wydaeghe	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	4:00:13.5	+28:04.7	0	5
Retired SS2		6	Dani Sordo	Cándido Carrera	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Accident		0	0
Retired SS2		16	Adrien Fourmaux	Alexandre Coria	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Accident		0	0

Special stages

Stage	Winners	Car	Time	Class leaders
SD	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	2:03.0	—
SS1	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	1:47.6	Neuville / Wydaeghe
SS2	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	20:17.8	Evans / Martin
SS3	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	14:20.0
SS4	Stage cancelled
SS5	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	19:08.1	Evans / Martin
SS6	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	12:48.5
SS7	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	14:33.6
SS8	Lappi / Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	2:00.0
SS9	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	15:15.2
SS10	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	11:14.8
SS11	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:20.2
SS12	Evans / Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:18.7
SS13	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	14:33.5
SS14	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	10:35.8
SS15	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:19.7
SS16	Lappi / Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	1:47.0
SS17	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	5:04.2
SS18	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	18:09.9
SS19	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	8:16.3
SS20	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	18:03.7
SS21	Katsuta / Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	8:16.6
SS22	Neuville / Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	4:48.8

Championship standings

• Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships				Manufacturers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points
1			Kalle Rovanperä	250			Jonne Halttunen	250			Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	548
2			Elfyn Evans	216			Scott Martin	216			Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	432
3			Thierry Neuville	189			Martijn Wydaeghe	189			M-Sport Ford WRT	287
4			Ott Tänak	174			Martin Järveoja	174
5			Sébastien Ogier	133			Vincent Landais	133

WRC-2 Rally2

Classification

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class								Class	Stage	Event
7	1	20	Andreas Mikkelsen	Torstein Eriksen	Toksport WRT 3	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	3:39:42.5	0.0	25	1	6
8	2	21	Nikolay Gryazin	Konstantin Aleksandrov	Toksport WRT 3	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	3:40:58.4	+1:15.9	18	3	4
9	3	22	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Maciej Szczepaniak	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	3:51:34.7	+11:52.2	15	2	2
11	4	26	Osamu Fukunaga	Misako Saida	Osamu Fukunaga	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	3:56:47.8	+17:05.3	12	0	0
12	5	25	Daniel Chwist	Kamil Heller	Daniel Chwist	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	4:00:01.8	+20:19.3	10	0	0
14	6	28	Eamonn Boland	Michael Joseph Morrissey	Eamonn Boland	Citroën C3 Rally2	4:00:47.4	+21:04.9	8	0	0
18	7	29	Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz	Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio	Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	4:32:39.2	+52:56.7	6	0	0
24	8	30	Satoshi Imai	Jason Farmer	Satoshi Imai	Citroën C3 Rally2	5:19:31.7	+1:39:49.2	4	0	0
Retired SS14		23	Heikki Kovalainen	Sae Kitagawa	Heikki Kovalainen	Škoda Fabia R5	Transmission		0	0	0
Did not start		27	Alexander Villanueva	José Murado González	Alexander Villanueva	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Withdrawn		0	0	0

Special stages

Overall Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:09.1 — SS1 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:52.9 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS2 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 20:44.6 Mikkelsen / Eriksen SS3 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 14:36.2 SS4 Stage cancelled SS5 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 19:58.4 Mikkelsen / Eriksen SS6 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 13:30.9 SS7 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:16.9 SS8 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:05.9 SS9 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 16:01.3 SS10 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:45.4 SS11 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:25.5 SS12 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:24.3 SS13 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:10.0 SS14 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:48.6 SS15 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:35.0 SS16 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:52.1 SS17 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 5:21.6 SS18 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 18:53.1 SS19 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 8:49.1 SS20 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 18:47.0 SS21 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 8:53.5 SS22 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 5:10.2

Challenger Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:10.8 — SS1 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:52.9 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS2 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 21:11.1 SS3 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:07.1 SS4 Stage cancelled SS5 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 19:58.4 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS6 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 13:32.1 SS7 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:23.4 SS8 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:06.0 SS9 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 16:03.5 SS10 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:52.9 SS11 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:25.5 SS12 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:24.3 SS13 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:10.0 SS14 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:55.7 SS15 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:38.7 SS16 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:52.5 SS17 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 5:23.5 SS18 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 19:15.9 SS19 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 8:54.7 SS20 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 19:05.2 SS21 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 8:53.5 SS22 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 5:10.2

Championship standings

• Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.

Pos.		Open Drivers' championships				Open Co-drivers' championships				Teams' championships				Challenger Drivers' championships				Challenger Co-drivers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points		Move	Driver	Points
1			Andreas Mikkelsen	134			Torstein Eriksen	130		1	Toksport WRT 3	207		1	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	126		1	Maciej Szczepaniak	126
2		1	Gus Greensmith	111		1	Jonas Andersson	111		1	Toksport WRT 2	188		1	Nikolay Gryazin	121		1	Konstantin Aleksandrov	121
3		1	Yohan Rossel	104		1	Arnaud Dunand	104		1	Toksport WRT	135		2	Sami Pajari	118		2	Enni Mälkönen	118
4		3	Nikolay Gryazin	96		3	Konstantin Aleksandrov	103		1	M-Sport Ford WRT	131		1	Mikołaj Marczyk	77			Szymon Gospodarczyk	65
5		1	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	95		1	Maciej Szczepaniak	98			Hyundai Motorsport N	122		1	Marco Bulacia	72			Diego Vallejo	62

WRC-3 Rally3

Classification

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class
22	1	55	Jason Bailey	Shayne Peterson	Jason Bailey	Ford Fiesta Rally3	5:03:05.7	0.0	25

Special stages

Stage	Winners	Car	Time	Class leaders
SD	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	2:35.4	—
SS1	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	2:21.0	Bailey / Peterson
SS2	Stage interrupted
SS3	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	16:53.4	Bailey / Peterson
SS4	Stage cancelled
SS5	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	24:13.5	Bailey / Peterson
SS6	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	15:52.7
SS7	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	17:51.1
SS8	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	2:19.6
SS9	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	18:36.4
SS10	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	57:26.9
SS11	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	3:02.6
SS12	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	3:48.6
SS13	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	18:58.6
SS14	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	13:32.8
SS15	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	4:19.0
SS16	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	2:08.5
SS17	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	6:19.4
SS18	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	22:23.6
SS19	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	10:15.7
SS20	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	22:02.4
SS21	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	9:59.4
SS22	Bailey / Peterson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	6:00.7

Championship standings

• Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions.

Pos.		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

1. 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]
2. 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]