Sunday’s six tests spanned 72.38km: two loops of Nukata (SS15/19, 20.23km), Lake Mikawako (SS16/20, 13.98km) and Okazaki (SS17/18, 1.98km) marked the end of the 13th round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season.
After struggling with setup all weekend, Tänak and Järveoja were unleashed in their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car in the wet conditions. They started their day with a stage win on SS15, and claimed three more top-three stage times on SS17, SS18 and SS19. Despite battling a front right puncture on SS16, the Estonians’ improvement helped them clinch fourth overall and two additional Super Sunday points – a positive end to a challenging weekend.
Fourmaux and Coria’s promising Rally Japan journey ended early on the day’s first stage, as mist skewed Fourmaux’s vision and sent him off the road’s banking and into a line of trees. This error caused too much damage to their car, including the loss of the car’s passenger door and with it the crew’s time card – forcing them to retire after the stage. The Frenchmen were the highest running Hyundai Motorsport car for the majority of the rally, and will take their tarmac learnings with them into 2026.
While Neuville and Wydaeghe hoped to fight for a strong haul of Super Sunday points, an electrical issue with their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 caused their wipers to fail, meaning the Belgians were unable to return to the stages on the final day.
Despite its frustrating end, Rally Japan provided plenty of promise for Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, with demonstrable steps forward in the development of the evo car and considerable personal development for Fourmaux and Coria. The next and final round of the season presents a complete unknown to crews, with the debut Rally Saudi Arabia marking a return to gravel to end the year.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Crew finished in fourth after challenging weekend
Tänak/Järveoja focus on gravel return in Saudi Arabia
Tänak said: “The conditions today have been demanding but I enjoyed them as the car was driving better than the days before. We didn’t have to push too hard today, but it was much more drivable. We don’t know what was causing our issues over the last few days, but we will investigate with the team. We need to go to Saudi and discover what it’s like, but Hyundai have been good on rough gravel, so these kind of conditions should suit us.”
Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Unlucky misstep forced Frenchmen to retire after end of SS15
Fourmaux/Coria were in contention for a podium finish
Fourmaux said: “Firstly and most importantly, both Alex and I are OK. There was a lot of mist on my windscreen which made it difficult to see the road. I didn’t hear Alex’s pacenote warning about a tricky corner, and I didn’t see it either, so we went slightly wide into the trees, which damaged the door and side of the car. Without the door and with the time card inside, we had no choice but to retire. Of course, I am disappointed, but at the same time, we were able to fight at the front all weekend and make good progress with the car. Overall, we can say it was a really positive weekend.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#1 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Electrical fault forced Belgians into early retirement
Crew struggled with issues across entire weekend
Neuville said: “Unfortunately, we experienced an electrical issue on the way to the first stage this morning, which caused the wipers to stop working and forced us to retire from Rally Japan. It’s a real shame, as we were looking forward to gaining more mileage today and continuing to improve the car. Overall, it has been a very disappointing rally for us, but now it’s time to reset and focus on Rally Saudi Arabia, where we hope to be back fighting at the front.”
Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said: “Obviously a difficult day for the team after the success of yesterday, but overall, we have to take the positives from this weekend. We know now that we have the speed in the evo car to be competitive on tarmac in a variety of conditions, and we’ve been able to take a lot of data and learnings from that performance. We’re going to Rally Saudi Arabia with some renewed optimism, on a surface that we know we have a better understanding of the car, so we want to maximise that opportunity.”
Next rally
The final round of the 2025 FIA WRC season, Rally Saudi Arabia, presents crews with a brand-new challenge from November 25-29.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Japan
1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:21:08.9
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +11.6
3 S. Pajari M. Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:16.6
4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +3:18.1
5 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 +6:48.7
6 K. Rovanperä J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +7:01.5
7 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris +9:35.5
8 A. Cachón B. Rozada Toyota GR Yaris +10:41.6
9 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +11:36.2
10 J. Solans R. Sanjuan Toyota GR Yaris +12:26.0 ...
Super Sunday Classification – Rally Japan
1 S. Ogier 48:13.9
2 E. Evans +5.1
3 K. Rovanperä +33.6
4 O. Tänak +43.6
5 T. Katsuta +52.9
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 13
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 692
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 464
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 191
4 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2 145
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 13
1 E. Evans 272
2 S. Ogier 269
3 K. Rovanperä 248
4 O. Tänak 213
5 T. Neuville 166
6 T. Katsuta 111
7 A. Fourmaux 96
8 S. Pajari 94
9 O. Solberg 70
10 G. Munster 36
All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.
