Until that point, Tänak had led the rally for 14 of the 16 stages at the season finale and was 38 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, but a mistake on SS17 Nukata 1 saw his hard work undone. The Estonian crew came across unexpectedly slippery conditions and went off the road, causing rally-ending damage to his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid.

With Tänak’s 18 provisional points forfeited by his retirement, the gap between Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team and Toyota in the manufacturers’ fight was now precarious. Newly crowned champion Neuville focused his efforts on going flat out for the final four tests alongside team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen, who had scored a stage win on SS17 to take an early lead of the Super Sunday standings.

On the first run of SS18 Lake Mikawako – the dress rehearsal for the Power Stage – Neuville led Mikkelsen in a Hyundai Motorsport 1-2 in stage. A second stage victory on SS19 Nukata saw the Belgian move to the top of the Super Sunday standings with Mikkelsen second, but Hyundai Motorsport and Toyota were now neck-and-neck on points in the championship.

Neuville and Mikkelsen would trade places in the Super Sunday classification following the Toyota Stadium super special stage, with an eight-second gap to the nearest competitor heading into the decisive Power Stage. It was a stage fitting for such a competitive season, with both Hyundai Motorsport drivers giving it their all. While Neuville was second quickest, earning four additional points, Mikkelsen made a small mistake and finished fifth overall. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to confirm the manufacturers’ championship, which was decided by just three points.

The 2024 season has been a momentous year for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team. As well as clinching its first FIA WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles, the Alzenau-based outfit claimed its most amount of points in a single season (561) and equalled its 2022 record for most amount of wins in a season (5). The team also claimed 15 podiums, 4 double podiums, and 90 stage wins across the 13 rounds.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

    Neuville finishes highest-points scoring year of WRC career with 242 points
    Two wins, six podiums and 49 stage victories in championship-winning season

Neuville said: “What a fantastic day. Words cannot describe how we are feeling. I think we deserved the title after such a challenging year. We had a lot more pressure than we would have liked coming to this final event, but we managed our weekend as best as we could with the problems we had. After the first stage and the titles were confirmed, we were able to relax a bit and push as hard as we could for the manufacturers’ fight. We went flat out with nothing to lose – we really wanted to bring home that crown for the team, as they really deserved it. Sadly, it wasn’t enough this time but everyone in the team should be incredibly proud of the work they have done this year.”

Crew Notes: Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (#9 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

    Norwegians demonstrate strong pace on final day, winning SS17
     Finish a fantastic second in Super Sunday standings

Mikkelsen said: “After we decided to stop yesterday, we wanted to really prepare for today as best as possible. I think we did that well; we were very fast and fighting at the front, showing good speed and having a nice feeling in the car all day. I’m disappointed for the team as they really deserved the manufacturers’ title this year. Everyone has done such an amazing job, the car has been working well and very reliable all season, so it is tough to feel this title slip away from us. However, I am so happy for Thierry. I grew up with him and have raced him since we both started out in national rallying. Being good mates as well, I am really emotional seeing him clinch the title. I’m very proud of him.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

    Estonians had led rally for 14 of 16 stages prior to retirement
    Complete the season in third place in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings

Tänak said: “It is difficult to describe what happened other than complete disaster. We weren’t expecting slippery conditions in the corner and as soon as we arrived, the front washed out. It was too far off the road to recover the car. While we are disappointed to end the season this way, we have to recognise what a great season this has been for Thierry. He has been very consistent, managing the pressure well, and he is a worthy champion.”

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “This has been a very eventful rally. We arrived knowing that one of our drivers would be champion but the manufacturers’ title was anything but certain and unfortunately we missed out by a small margin. It’s been an intense and fantastic season-long battle with Toyota, and once again on tarmac this weekend we had the pace to be a real threat to them. Despite leading the majority of the rally, with two accidents and a turbo charger issue we gave them too many opportunities to catch us, and ultimately their pace on the Power Stage was too strong for us to match. Congratulations to everyone at Toyota for a fantastic season; we look forward to doing battle again in 2025 and hopefully taking another step up to compete toe-to-toe with them at an incredibly competitive level. Finally, my thanks to everyone at Hyundai Motorsport for their hard work and determination in an incredible year. Together, we have shown much improved reliability and performance on the world stage and achieved a milestone in winning Hyundai’s first FIA WRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles.”

Final Overall Classification – Rally Japan

1     E. Evans     S. Martin     Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid                  3:23:41.0
2     S. Ogier     V. Landais     Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid                    +1:27.3
3     A. Fourmaux     A. Coria     Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid                       +1:55.5
4     T. Katsuta     A. Johnston     Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid              +2:02.6
5     G. Munster     L. Louka     Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid                         +3:11.5
6     T. Neuville     M. Wydaeghe     Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid     +6:54.1
7     N. Gryazin     K. Aleksandrov     Citroën C3                                    +10:04.3
8     S. Pajari     E. Mälkönen     Toyota GR Yaris                                   +11:50.8
9     H. Arai     S. Matsuo     Škoda Fabia                                             +13:24.3
10     G. Greensmith     J. Andersson     Škoda Fabia RS                        +14:15.8 ...

Super Sunday Classification – Rally Japan

1     T. Neuville     43:03.4
2     A. Mikkelsen     +4.2
3     S. Ogier     +6.0
4     E. Evans     +11.6
5     A. Fourmaux     +26.0
6     T. Katsuta     +27.0
7     G. Munster     +54.0

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 13

1     Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team           561
2     Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team     558
3     M-Sport Ford World Rally Team                      295
 
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 13

1     T. Neuville        242
2     E. Evans          210
3     O. Tänak        200
4     S. Ogier           191
5     A. Fourmaux     162
6     T. Katsuta     116
7     K. Rovanperä     114
8     G. Munster     46
9     D. Sordo    44
10     S. Pajari     44 ...

All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.