Thierry Neuville - Martijn Wydaeghe - FORUM8 Rally Japan 2022

FORUM8 Rally Japan 2022

WRC #13 • WRC2 Open #13 • WRC2 Junior #13 • WRC2 Masters #13 • WRC3 Open #13

10. 11. – 13. 11. 2022, Toyota • Toyota Motorsports Club (TMSC) + MOSCO • asphalt 274.31 km - (cancelled 43.22 km) • total distance including road sections - 965.25 km • Other years

1. leg	Time	Pos.	km/h s/km	Overall	Pos. after
SS1 Kuragaike Park (2.75 km)	2:07.3	4. 4. class RC1 4. WRC	77.8 km/h 0.11 s/km	2:07.3	4. 4. class RC1 4. WRC
"The motivation is always there, that's not a problem. It's the end of the season and we want to end on a high. We want to enjoy it as well - I think that's important. So let's do the job."
SS2 Isegami's Tunnel 1 (23.29 km)	17:46.4	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC	78.6 km/h 0.08 s/km	19:53.7	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"It didn't feel great to be honest. I was understeering quite a lot and towards the end my pace notes were too conservative. Plenty of surprises in there and it was getting quite dirty as well. That's all we could do."
SS3 Inabu Dam 1 (19.38 km)	cancelled
SS4 Shitara Town R 1 (22.44 km)	14:27.9	3. 3. class RC1 3. WRC	93.1 km/h 0.20 s/km	34:21.6	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
"I struggled a bit. The visibility is so bad with the sun and the trees and I have no confidence in the front with lots of grip changes. Very tough but we are here."
SS5 Isegami's Tunnel 2 (14.33 km)	10:39.1	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC	80.7 km/h 0.08 s/km	45:00.7	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"It was a clean run. I'm enjoying the car a bit more now and we have a better balance. It's quite tricky with the visibility and I struggled a bit, but I think for everybody it's the same."
SS6 Inabu Dam 2 (19.38 km)	12:21.1	5. 5. class RC1 5. WRC	94.1 km/h 0.11 s/km	57:21.8	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"It's getting more and more [full of] leaves. You can't see the road and you don't know what the grip is like underneath them. I struggled in there because I don't want to do a mistake. We are in a good position and we are staying in the fight."
SS7 Shitara Town R 2 (22.44 km)	cancelled
2. leg
SS8 Nukata Forest 1 (20.56 km)	14:20.0	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC	86.1 km/h 0.14 s/km	1:11:41.8	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"I tried. I had quite an okay stage but in the very narrow sections I have too much information in my pace notes and it was very difficult to keep concentrated. I did what I could."
SS9 Lake Mikawako 1 (14.74 km)	10:26.8	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC	84.7 km/h 0.02 s/km	1:22:08.6	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"It was okay - the first clean, smooth stage I've had. It's getting a bit dirty towards the end so maybe I was a bit cautious in there. I had a good run through."
SS10 Shinshiro City (7.08 km)	3:34.2	6. 6. class RC1 6. WRC	119.0 km/h 0.38 s/km	1:25:42.8	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"I don't know. On the recce we had to do 60kph which is very slow, and my pace notes are related on speed. There is also a metal plate which came off the road and it's in the middle of the road."
SS11 Nukata Forest 2 (20.56 km)	14:07.0	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC	87.4 km/h	1:39:49.8	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC
"It was OK, in the very narrow I struggled a bit on the confidence. I don’t want to make the car slide too much because you lose too much time on the exit.”
SS12 Lake Mikawako 2 (14.74 km)	10:19.7	2. 2. class RC1 2. WRC	85.6 km/h 0.10 s/km	1:50:09.5	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
"It was actually not a very good run. I did a good stage but I had some real trouble with the diff spin. Luckily it was the last proper stage of the day and we only have two Mickey Mouse ones left.
SS13 Okazaki City SSS 1 (1.40 km)	cancelled
SS14 Okazaki City SSS 2 (1.40 km)	1:18.8	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC	64.0 km/h	1:51:28.3	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
3. leg
SS15 Asahi Kougen 1 (7.52 km)	4:52.9	3. 3. class RC1 3. WRC	92.4 km/h 0.45 s/km	1:56:21.2	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
"I'm not surprised. With the two softs on the rear, we know we're going to lose some time in the upcoming stages. Once the rain comes, with the wet tyres we should be much quicker. I am relying on the information of the team and according to that there will be a lot of rain."
SS16 Ena City 1 (21.59 km)	15:38.7	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC	82.8 km/h	2:11:59.9	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
"It was a challenging stage in there and I wasn't sure I had done enough. The time is good so I'm happy with that. It's a relief but it's a shame for Elfyn as well. The fight was enjoyable and now it's over, but we still need to be careful."
SS17 Nenoue Plateau (11.60 km)	7:53.2	4. 4. class RC1 4. WRC	88.3 km/h 0.70 s/km	2:19:53.1	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
SS18 Ena City 2 (21.59 km)	18:23.8	5. 5. class RC1 5. WRC	70.4 km/h 1.93 s/km	2:38:16.9	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
"That was a tough one. I knew I couldn't make any mistakes and I took it quite steady. We had a lot of heavy rain at some points and it was full aquaplaning everywhere. We did what we had to do."
SS19 Asahi Kougen 2[Power Stage] (7.52 km)	5:35.4	4. 2. class RC1 4. WRC	80.7 km/h 1.98 s/km	2:43:52.3	1. 1. class RC1 1. WRC
"It feels great! It wasn't an easy weekend or an easy year, but to end with a victory and showing a good speed all weekend is a great way to end the season. Our weather guys did an incredible job this weekend so thanks to them and thanks to everybody."

FORUM8 Rally Japan 2022

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