Hyundai ends fourth in Rally Japan

Overall, the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team has claimed 2 victories, 15 podiums and 67 stage wins in the 2023 season

Hyundai ends fourth in Rally Japan

Date: 2023-11-24

Hyundai Motorsport has concluded the2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with Esapekka Lappi and Janne Fermending in fourth place in Rally Japan.

The final day, Sunday 19 November,featured three stages, each tackled twice, with no midday service. Conditionsremained tricky, with grip levels hard to predict. Lappi and Ferm foundthemselves at risk of a charging Takamoto Katsuta on Sunday morning, with thegap between them dropping to 16 seconds heading into the remote tyre fittingzone.

A fantastic run through Special Stage 20- Ena City 2 - was enough to keep the Japanese driver at bay, as well asconfirm a Hyundai Motorsport 1-2 finish in the stage. The Finns then set thethird fastest time on the final Power Stage of the year to claim three bonuspoints from the event.

Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe endeda disappointing weekend, where they retired on Friday while chasing downvictory, with a flourish. The Belgians won both runs of Ena City and AsahiKougen special stages, and finished second on each Nenoue Kougen test. Theirfinal result of 13th place does not reflect the pace of the Hyundai Shell MobisWorld Rally Team crew in the unpredictable conditions. Maximum points in thePower Stage was a small consolation for the duo.

Overall, the Hyundai Shell Mobis WorldRally Team has claimed 2 victories, 15 podiums and 67 stage wins in the 2023season and finished second in the manufacturers' championship. The team willnow focus on coming back stronger in 2024 with a refreshed line-up and clearwinning intentions.

Crew notes: Esapekka Lappi/JanneFerm

Lappi said: "My pace was getting betterand better day by day. This morning I was not really satisfied, I felt I wasreally driving on the limit of the grip and I couldn't match the times ofKatsuta, especially on the wet tyres. At the tyre fitting, we made a changewith the suspension set-up just to try something else, and it worked. In theend, I think we found something at the right time to stop him, which wasimportant for that fight. It is good to finish the final rally without anydamage to the car. I think my season has been 50/50; at the beginning I waslearning a lot, the middle of the season was really good, but the end was notso strong. I'm looking forward to coming back even better in 2024."

Crew notes: ThierryNeuville/Martijn Wydaeghe

Neuville said: "I'm quite happy thisevent is over. It was still an enjoyable weekend but we could have been in thefight for victory considering the speed we have. I'm really disappointed forthat mistake but it is what it is, and I apologised to the team for it. We'regoing to another good season next year; we took eight podiums (in 2023), but wealso had a couple of problems that cost us important points for thechampionship. We were really only targeting victories at the end of the season- sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't."

Hyundai Motorsport team principal CyrilAbiteboul said: "Rally Japan is a good summary of our season - one that hasshown a number of positives with our crews and our team willing to doeverything to fight for wins and showing strong speed. However, we have alsohad some lost opportunities, either due to direct mistakes or lack ofconfidence.

"This was the case this weekend, despiteus showing decent pace in dramatic conditions and on a surface where, at thestart of this season, we were not as strong. Thanks to the efforts of our teamto develop the car, we have improved this over the course of the year. It is agood foundation to take the opportunity of the break and focus on the targetswe have to set ourselves for next year."

Abiteboul added: "Finally, I would liketo take a moment to pay tribute to our team-mate Craig. We have suffered agreat loss this season. Craig had a passion and love for our sport that hecould express like no other, and he is still greatly missed by everyone. His wordsshould serve as an inspiration to all of us, even on our most difficult days.We hope to carry his spirit, drive and determination with us on the next stageof our journey."

   Final results Rally Japan: 

1 E. Evans / S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 3:32:08.8

2 S. Ogier / V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:17.7

3 K. Rovanperä / J. Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:46.5

4 E. Lappi / J. Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +2:50.3

5 T. Katsuta / A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +3:10.3

6 O. Tänak / M. Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:28.3

7 A. Mikkelsen / T. Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS +7:33.7

8 N. Gryazin / K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +8:49.6

9 K. Kajetanowicz / M. Szczepaniak Škoda Fabia RS +19:25.9

10 H. Arai / H. Tachikui Peugeot 208 Rally4 +22:22.7

   2023 FIA WRC finalmanufacturers' standings: [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]