WRC Update: Rally Japan!

What a weekend it was for the WRC teams in Japan, in the second-to-last rally of the season! Rally Japan is based in Sapporo—with its tight forest stages and open fast-flowing gravel stages, it’s been likened Rally Finland, but with over 27 individual stages, it’s got the most of any of the rallies on the circuit. The event takes place over three days, covers well over 250 kms, and is concludes each day with a stage run in the amazing Sapporo Stadium. This indoor/outdoor stage consists of an impressive 1.7 km "super-special" course so fans can enjoy wild, up-close rally action without having to hike out into the forest. More…

The big news of the weekend was that the Championship for the year was sown up, with Sebastien Loeb breaking all sorts of records. He didn’t have to win Rally Japan to clinch the title, but he did have to score a top-three finish, which is exactly what he did. Finishing 3rd gave Loeb the World Rally Title for 2008, his fifth consecutive one, making him the record-holder for the most consecutive championships since the series inception. It was also his 46th rally victory in his nine years of rallying, pretty impressive considering there are only 18 events per season. Will he make it 47 with the season’s last rally, coming up in Great Britain?  If he does, he’ll break yet another record for number of wins in a season. Currently he sits at 10.

The weekend’s event was obviously a big deal for Japanese manufacturers Suzuki and Subaru, so it was good to see all of the Japanese cars finish in the top 8. The Subarus of Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg finished 4th and 8th respectively and the Suzuki Camp’s Flying Finns finished 5th and 6th. It was a best finish for newcomer Suzuki this season, and the team was elated.

Francois Duval suffered a scary crash this weekend—after he swept wide on a corner he smashed into a steel post, caving in the passenger side of his Focus RS. His co-driver Patrick Pivato sustained a fractured pelvis and broken tibia, and had to endure a medically-induced Coma so that doctors could work on internal bleeding caused by the incident. I seriously wonder about Duval’s future in the sport, in light of his crazy driving and rare finishes—he has already been through four co-drivers, and wrecked so many cars that I’ve lost count. However, on tarmac he is one of the best. I guess he just has to keep working on his gravel finishes.

The victor of the weekend was Mikko Hirvonen, with Jarri-Matti Latvala placing in second place. It was a somber win for Mikko as he was more concerned with Loeb’s finish. Had Loeb placed lower than 3rd, it would have given Hirvonen a shot at the WRC title. Jarri-Matti Latvala was showing tremendous pace rivaling his own teammate, but was told by team boss Malcolm Wilson to slow down since it was more important for both cars to place, earning points for Ford toward the manufacturers’ championship, than it was for him to win the rally. The Ford teams’ 1st and 2nd-place finishes mean that Ford is within striking distance of taking the championship away from Citroen, which currently leads Ford by only 11 points.  The next, highly anticipated final installment of the WRC in the UK will determine whether Ford is back on top as the #1 manufacturer competing in the WRC. Stay tuned!