2023-11-16 14:34:42
©Jun Uruno
The final round of the WRC Forum Eight Rally Japan (tarmac) took place on November 16th, following a ceremonial start, participants ran SSS1 (2.10km) at Toyota Stadium. Among the JRCars, Norihiko Katsuta (Toyota GR Yaris JP4-Rally 2) set the top time.
For this Rally Japan, a new Super SS was newly built on the Toyota Stadium ground, allowing two cars to run at the same time. Taking the lead from all the competing cars, the first car to make its debut at this year’s Rally Japan was a showdown between Katsuta and Toshihiro Arai (Subaru WRX S4), one of Japan’s top drivers. Katsuta’s time, which won this competition, became the top JRCar time.
Naoki Kobayashi
Katsuta smiled and said, “It was an exciting atmosphere. I made a few mistakes, but I’m okay.” On the other hand, at last year’s Rally Japan, Arai, who crashed on SS1 following the ceremonial start, drove carefully on the course. Still, he recorded the second fastest time among the JRCar cars, and expressed his relief, saying, “I was able to finish the first stage, so it’s better than last year.”
After this, the driving session included the running of WRC2’s top cars and Rally 1 cars, and then Satoshi Magai (Toyota GR Yaris DAT) appeared with Miguel Diaz-Aboitiz of Spain who drives Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2. to a combination of. However, at the jump spot, where most drivers, including rally 1 drivers, were wary of the steep slope, Magai hit the bottom of the front when landing. Majai was forced to retire for the day due to a damaged radiator, and is currently undergoing service repairs to prepare for a restart.
The rally began on the 17th with full-scale stage competition. The day begins early in the morning with the event’s longest tunnel, Isegami’s Tunnel (23.67km). After this, the race ran through Inabu Dam (19.38km), Shitara Town (22.53km), and following a service stop at Toyota Stadium (40 minutes), it ran these three races once more. After another service (45 minutes) at Toyota Stadium, the second run of the Toyota Stadium Super SS will take place.
Rain is forecast for this morning, and many people are warning of sections of the road that are covered in fallen leaves and slippery conditions.
WRC Rally Japan provisional results following JRCar SS1
1 Norihiko Katsuta (Toyota GR Yaris JP4-Rally 2) 2:02.3
2 Toshihiro Arai (Subaru WRX S4) +2.5
3 Kosuke Murata (Toyota GR Yaris) +11.6
4 Yuta Yamamoto (Toyota 86) +14.8
5 Yuji Irie (Toyota Vitz) +17.1
6 Taisuke Aihara (Daihatsu Copen) +22.6
7 Hiroyasu Shimizu (Toyota Yaris) +22.8
8 Shin Hotta (Toyota GR Yaris) +25.7
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