Neuville crowned, Toyota too! Relive the Power Stage of the Rally of Japan with live commentary

It's done: at 36 years old, Thierry Neuville becomes world rally champion for the first time in his career! The Belgian secured the title this Sunday after the exit from the track ofOtt Tänak, who was nevertheless the leader of this Rally from Japan! An abandonment which reshuffles the cards in the Constructors' championship since Hyundai et Toyota are now neck and neck for the title. Follow the last special stage of the Rally of Japan with live commentary on AUTOhebdo from 5:50 a.m.

> You can follow the evolution of the ranking live via the official WRC Live Timing, available here.
> Everything you need to know about the 2024 WRC points scale

Saturday 23 / Sunday 24 November
23:39 p.m. – SS17 : Nukata 1 – 20,23 km : Andreas Mikkelsen
00:35 p.m. – SS18 : Lake Mikawako 1 – 13,98 km: Thierry Neuville
1:38 p.m. – SS19 : Nukata 2 – 20,23 km : Thierry Neuville / Sebastien Ogier
4:17 p.m. – SS20 : Toyota Stadium 3 – 2,15 km: Takamoto katsuta
6:15 p.m. – SS21 (Power Stage): Lake Mikawako 2 – 13,98 km

WRC – Rally Japan
Relive the Power Stage live with commentary

7h08 – 👋  Thank you all for following us throughout this 2024 season of WRC ! And we'll already meet on January 23 for the kick-off of the 2025 season with the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo! Have a nice day! 

Neuville and Toyota crowned world champions, Rally Japan for Evans

7h05 – 🔢 In the championship, Thierry Neuville finished with 242 points ahead of Elfyn Evans (210 points) and Ott Tänak (200 points), while Toyota (561 points) beat Hyundai (558 points) for three small units!

7h03 – 🏁 Here is the final general classification of this Rally of Japan! 

Power Stage – Ranking

7h00 – 🥇🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Elfyn Evans wins Rally Japan, Toyota takes WRC Manufacturers' title! The Welshman wins his first and only rally of the season, while the Japanese manufacturer wins its 8th WRC title on home soil by beating Hyundai to the gong!

6h56 – ⏱️🇫🇷 Incredible time of Sébastien Ogier who will give the Constructors' title to Toyota! The Frenchman signs the best time of the Power Stage in 8'38″5 with 1″9 ahead of Thierry Neuville! Hyundai is beaten!

6h52 – 🇫🇷 Adrien fourmaux, he had nothing to play for on this Power Stage except defend his podium… and he succeeded! The Frenchman signs the 4th provisional time at 8″1 behind Thierry Neuville and keeps his 3rd place ahead of Takamoto Katsuta! The pilot M-Sport wins his 5th podium of the year!

6h48 – Takamoto Katsuta is also on the attack in this Power Stage… but fails 2″9 behind Thierry Neuville! He nevertheless signs with the 2nd provisional time ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen, which is essential for Toyota in the perspective of the Constructors’ title! The Japanese finishes his home rally in 4th place overall.

6h44 – Grégoire Munster finishes his first full season in the premier class with M-Sport! The Belgian crosses the finish line 9″9 behind Thierry Neuville in this Power Stage.

6h40 – ⏱️🇧🇪 The new world rally champion Thierry Neuville improves the mark and sets a stunning time of 8'40"4! The Belgian exults with his fans and family, present at the finish of the Power Stage! Ott Tänak applauds him in the Hyundai hospitality… Thierry Neuville is finally world champion! “I feel great. We have worked for this for so long. I thank all the people who support us, not only the team. I don’t know if it will be enough for the constructors’ title, we will see.”

6h36 – ⏱️ After the first three have passed through Rally2, it’s time for Rally1 with the outcome of the Constructors’ Championship! Andreas Mikkelsen, on the attack after his two retirements at the start of the weekend, set a first reference time of 8'45″1. The Norwegian made a small mistake in the special stage which cost him two seconds... and which could cost Hyundai the title!

6h32 – Superb performance for Hiroki Arai who takes a podium at home in WRC2 with 3rd place! The Japanese finishes 19″7 behind Nikolay Gryazin.

6h30 – 🇯🇵 Also note that Toyota wins the WRC2 Drivers’ title for the first year of the GR Yaris Rally2 in competition!

6h29 – 🇫🇮💬 Sami Pajari : “It’s really nice, it’s nice. It’s a big relief, after two days of driving a bit slow, taking care of everything, not doing anything stupid and reaching the finish line. Thanks to Toyota, to PrintSport, to our family, to our fans. We did it together, it’s not just me and Enni, big thanks to Enni, but to the whole team. We did it together. Thanks to all of you. I hope to do some rallies next year, Toyota has been reliable this year so I want to continue on the same path.”

6h28 – 🏆🇫🇮 Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen are WRC2 world champions! The Finn made sure of the win in this Power Stage by finishing 12″2 behind Nikolay Gryazin and finished 2nd in this Rally of Japan, enough to win the title against Oliver Solberg! No doubt we will see him again in 2025 at the wheel of a Rally1! 

SAMI PAJARI & ENNI MÄLKÖNEN ARE YOUR 2024 WRC2 CHAMPIONS!!! 🏆 #WRC | #RallyJapan 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/b1VwQGavee

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) November 24, 2024

6h24 – 🥇 Nikolay Gryazin finished the special without any problems with a time of 9'12"9 and thus won this Rally of Japan in the WRC2 category! The Russian, who rides under a Bulgarian license, wins his third victory of the season, after Croatia and Central Europe!

6h18 – During the first passage on this special this morning, it was Thierry Neuville who set the best time in 8'42″4.

6h15 – 🟢 Here we go for this last special stage and this last Power Stage of the 2024 season with the departure of Nikolay Gryazin, leader of the WRC2 category on this Rally of Japan!

6h11 – 🏆 In WRC2 too, the championship will be decided in this Power Stage… nevertheless, nothing seems to prevent Sami Pajari from stealing the title from Oliver Solberg! The Finn is in 2nd place, with a very comfortable lead of one and a half minutes over the 3rd, which would be enough to be crowned!

6h09 – 🔎 Here is the starting order for this last Power Stage of the year!

1) Gryazin (WRC2)
2) Pajari (WRC2)
3) Arai (WRC2)
4) Mikkelsen
5) Neuville
6) Munster
7) Katsuta
8) Fourmaux
9) Ogier
10) Evans

6h06 – 🔚 And yes Adri, the 2024 WRC season is almost over…

Last stage of the 2024 WRC season. Already. Wow!

Last time of the 2024 WRC season. Already. Wow!@MSportLtd @RedBullFrance pic.twitter.com/YYrD38BHx9

— Adrien FOURMAUX (@AdrienFourmaux) November 24, 2024

6h03 – 🔎 Obviously, all the points will be good to take this Sunday for the Constructors’ championship! Here is the current Super Sunday standings before the Power Stage, with the two Hyundai drivers in the lead.

6h00 – 🔢 As things stand, before the Power Stage, Hyundai and Toyota have virtually the same number of points in the Constructors' Championship with 553 points each! Everything will be decided on this Power Stage to find out which of the two teams will win the title!

5h58 – 🔎 If the Drivers' title is already up for grabs, there is still one rally to finish, a winner to determine… and another title to play for, the Manufacturers'! Before the Power Stage, it is therefore Elfyn Evans who leads the debates after having regained the lead of the rally following the retirement of Ott Tänak.

5h56 – 🇧🇪💬 Thierry Neuville's reaction after his coronation : “I am speechless, it came as a bit of a surprise. We were preparing the car before the stage (SS18) and we got a call from Florian, my assistant. He usually never calls, so I thought something was wrong. I heard a lot of people shouting behind me, so I knew it was good news! It took me a while to take it in! The feeling will be better day by day, when we really realise what we have achieved. I can only thank all the people who have been behind me all this time, my supporters – Team #TN11 – who have supported me for years, my family, my team who gave their best, all the people who have followed me all these years. I am very happy.”

5h54 – 💥 This is the moment Ott Tänak made the fatal mistake and Thierry Neuville officially became WRC world champion!

Heartbreak for Ott Tänak & Martin Järveoja 💔#WRC | #RallyJapan 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/dvSo2q6nyG

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) November 23, 2024

5h52 – 🏆🇧🇪 If you just woke up, here is the main news of the night: Thierry Neuville is officially world rally champion! The Belgian took advantage of Ott Tänak's exit from the track and retirement from the first special of the day to secure the title! 

Thierry Neuville crowned world champion!

5h50 – 👋 Hello everyone ! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the last special stage of the Rally of Japan, thirteenth and last round of the 2024 WRC season! The start of the Power Stage (Lake Mikawako 2 – 13,98 km) will be given in a few minutes, at 6:15!

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