The first day of Forum8 Rally Japan has come to an end. Adrien Fourmaux leads the event after the day’s line stage.
Shakedown
WRC2 driver Chris Ingram topped the shakedown stage. As Ingram set a time 0.5 seconds faster than Ott Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux finished with the third fastest time on the shakedown stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Tänak. Sebastien Ogier was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on his home events shakedown stage, with a time 0.5 seconds slower than Ogier.
SS1, Toyota Stadium SSS1
Adrien Fourmaux took home the first stage win of Forum8 Rally Japan 2024. With a time 0.5 seconds faster than Ott Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Tänak and 0.8 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Last year’s winner Elfyn Evans was fourth fastest on the opening stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Katsuta. Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville tied for fifth fastest on the stage. As both drivers finished 1.3 seconds slower than Evans.
Bad Start For The Home Manufacturer
Forum8 Rally Japan 2024 is huge for Toyota. As not only is it the team’s home event, but it is also the round that will decide the manufacturer’s championship. Toyota sits 15 points behind Hyundai in the manufacturer’s championship standings heading into this weekend. Toyota has won the championship the last two seasons in a row. However, this season they have seemed to struggle without two-time world champion Kalle Rovanperä scoring points. Sebastien Ogier has picked up some slack, but Elfyn Evans has had an extremely disappointing season thus far. Nevertheless, the team will need a good weekend from Evans, Ogier and Takamoto Katsuta if they want to win another manufacturer’s championship. Judging from the day one results there is some room to gain for the team, however, shakedown and a SuperSpecial aren’t really grounds to stand upon and worry.