Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans tied in Japan shakedown

Even if all the drivers agreed that this final session in Japan would not be the most informative, they were all impatient to finally drive their Rally1 on Japanese soil. Neuville and Evans finished the exercise with the best time.

Published on 10/11/2022 à 04:23

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Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans tied in Japan shakedown

Thierry Neuville was the fastest in the Rally Japan shakedown. ©DPPI/N. Katikis

First^e edition rally du Japon s’est élancée ce matin (cette nuit en France) avec le traditionnel shakedown. Le départ de ce dernier était fixé à seulement 8,4 km à l’est du parc d’assistance implanté autour du Toyota Stadium qui est localisé dans la grande banlieue est de Nagoya. Long de 2,80 km, le tronçon choisi serpentait dans le Kuragaike Park, ne donnant malheureusement pas un aperçu de ce qui attend les concurrents à partir de demain. Cette ultime séance de test était en revanche bien représentative de ce que les équipages affronteront ce soir dès 17h38 (9h38 en France) puisqu’il s’agissait de l’ES1 à l’envers. Le règlement n’autorisant pas les essais sur les épreuves en dehors de l’Europe, les équipes se sont un peu élancées dans l’inconnue au niveau des réglages. A ce petit jeu des devinettes, Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans were the fastest during the first run, which is often considered the most instructive. Tied, the Belgian and the Welshman (in 2min09s4) were ahead Sébastien Ogier (at 0s5) and Ott Tänak (at 0s7). However, it was dangerous to draw conclusions, because the drivers had opted for different tire choices, Neuville playing on soft and Tänak on hard for example. The times continued to drop throughout the morning as the teams worked on the cars, refining the settings. The three Yaris took the lead for a moment with Ogier in the lead, but Neuville took the lead and seemed likely to win, but Evans came back to his level at the end of the three hours (in 2min04s6), ahead of Sébastien Ogier (at 0s5). Regular, Craig Breen took the 4^e place, imitated by a surprising Fergus Greensmith (at 0s6). In WRC2, Emil Lindholm confirmed his appetite for tarmac by asserting himself as the fastest ahead of Teemu Suninen (at 0s2) and Grégoire Munster (at 1s2). The competitors have a few hours to take stock of this session before the starting ceremony and the first special stage on Thursday morning in France.

Shakedown result of Rally Japan

1.	#11	Neuville Thierry – Wydaeghe M.	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	2:04.6
2.	#33	Evans Elfyn – Martin Scott	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:04.6
3.	#1	Ogier Sébastien – Landais V.	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:05.1
4.	#42	Breen Craig – Fulton James	Ford Cougar Rally1	2:05.2
5.	#44	Greensmith Gus – Andersson Jonas	Ford Cougar Rally1	2:05.2
6.	#69	Rovanperä Kalle – Halttunen J.	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:05.3
7.	#8	Tänak Ott – Järveoja Martin	Hyundai i20N Rally1	2:05.7
8.	#6	Sordo Dani – Carrera Cándido	Hyundai i20N Rally1	2:06.6
9.	#18	Katsuta Takamoto – Johnston Aaron	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:07.1
10.	#21	Lindholm Emil – Hämäläinen R.	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:10.3
11.	#22	Suninen Teemu – Markkula Mikko	Hyundai i20N Rally2	2:09.2
12.	#23	Pajari Sami – Mälkönen Enni	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	2:09.2