Rally Japan: Alexandre Coria – “We are not going to risk our season on this rally”

If your participation last year did not last very long with an outing in ES2, were you still able to use what you had learned in 2023?

Last year it was a bit like receiving a Christmas present and realising there was nothing in it (laughs). The course being 65% identical, we didn't start from scratch, but the conditions were really extreme with a lot of rain that it's a bit like a new rally for us. However, we will be less well prepared than all the other crews in Rally1 who all know this event better than us.

What does it inspire in you?

It's so twisty! Sometimes I feel like I'm in the Cévennes... but with much less grip. I appreciate having already been able to take reference points on the connections which are not always easy.

Considering the year you have had, how will you approach the rally? Is there a special feeling because it is the last one in 2024?

This is not the first time this year that we are starting a round with little experience. It happened in Chile and we have to do the same thing by applying what has worked for us since the beginning of the championship. We have to focus on ourselves and the strategy we are going to put in place. We have not touched the car since the end of the Power Stage of the Central Europe Rally. The championship has gone by very quickly which means that we have had a good 12 months. We are not going to play our season on this race. We take it a bit as a bonus and the aim will be to have fun. There is still some stakes in both championships and we will see if we can have a role as arbiter.

Regarding Japan, how do you approach this trip?

Before coming last year, it wasn't necessarily one of the destinations that particularly attracted me and the surprise had been great and pleasant. I really enjoyed this discovery last year and I'm coming back with great pleasure to this country. I like the respect and the culture of Japan. This rally is now in my top three events of the championship.