Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja finished the WRC season in third place
Last Weekend Marked the Final Round of the 2024 World Rally Championship Season in Japan
Competitors faced 21 stages and 302.59 kilometers of asphalt in the Land of the Rising Sun during the last event of the year. The rally also decided this year’s WRC world champions in the drivers/co-drivers and manufacturers' categories.
Hyundai Motorsport's Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja entered the rally 25 points behind championship leaders Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, with Hyundai leading Toyota by 15 points in the manufacturers' standings. The Estonian duo began the rally strong, holding second place after Thursday's short opening stage. By Friday morning, they moved into the lead. Despite briefly relinquishing first place, they regained their advantage by Friday evening, finishing the day 20.9 seconds ahead of Toyota's Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Although the British pair closed the gap to 15.3 seconds during Saturday morning's stages, Tänak pushed harder in the afternoon to extend his lead, ending the day with a 38-second advantage.
On Sunday morning, Tänak and Järveoja started with a comfortable lead, knowing they would need their teammates' misfortune to secure the individual title, while Hyundai was close to clinching its third manufacturers' championship.
Unfortunately, disaster struck on the opening stage of Sunday. In the final kilometer of the stage, Tänak and Järveoja went off the road and retired from the rally. Moments later, WRC2 driver Heikki Kovalainen crashed at the same spot, with his Toyota landing on the hood of Tänak's Hyundai. Co-driver Järveoja, who had just exited the car, narrowly avoided serious injury thanks to quick reflexes. "I didn’t expect slippery conditions in that corner. As soon as we entered, the front slid out, and we were too far off-road to save it. It’s an absolute disaster, and honestly, I have no words to describe it. It’s a complete mess that should never have happened," Tänak told DirtFish.
Despite their disappointment, Tänak congratulated Neuville and Wydaeghe via social media: "We're obviously gutted, but we must acknowledge the fantastic season Thierry and Martijn had. They handled the pressure superbly and fully deserve the title. Congratulations to them." The Estonians’ retirement handed Toyota a chance to take the championship, as the points were now tied. The decision came down to the Power Stage, where Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais claimed victory, while Evans and Martin finished third, securing their first win of the season and the rally overall.
This result was enough for Toyota to secure its fourth consecutive manufacturers' title and eighth overall, beating Hyundai by just three points on home soil.
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe Crowned World Rally Champions
While Hyundai missed out on the manufacturers' title, Neuville and Wydaeghe clinched the drivers' and co-drivers' titles. Their rally had a rough start when their Hyundai lost turbo pressure on Friday morning, dropping them to 15th place. However, by Saturday, they fought back, reaching seventh by the day's end.
After Tänak's Sunday crash, Neuville and Wydaeghe received congratulations for their first world title but had to keep pushing to help Hyundai in the manufacturers' race, which ultimately fell short. The Belgians finished the rally in sixth place, 6:54.1 behind the winners. Belgium became the 10th country to produce a WRC champion, with Neuville becoming the 20th driver to win the title. It took Neuville 168 rallies and 5,533 days to secure his championship, a record for the longest wait. Before this, he had earned five silvers and three bronzes. Neuville summed up his emotions at the finish: "I feel great. We’ve worked so hard for this and I want to thank everyone who’s been part of this long journey. We finally got the reward for all the effort and patience."
In the 2024 season, Toyota’s GR Rally1 won eight rallies (Rovanperä 4, Ogier 3, Evans 1), while Hyundai’s i20 N Rally1 took five (Neuville 2, Tänak 2, Lappi 1). Ogier and Landais led the most stages with 57, followed by Tänak and Järveoja with 33. Neuville/Wydaeghe ended the season with 242 points, followed by Evans/Martin with 210, and Tänak/Järveoja with 200.
WRC2 Champions and the End of an Era
In WRC2, Finnish duo Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen secured their title in Japan, driving the debuting Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The rally marked the end of the Rally1 hybrid era, introduced in 2022, as the championship returns to internal combustion engines next year. Over 39 events, Toyota won 24, Hyundai 12, and Ford 3.
The rally was also Pirelli’s final appearance as the official tire supplier since 2021 and saw the conclusion of this season's much-debated points system, which ultimately delivered an exciting year.
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool / Jaanus Ree