TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Elfyn Evans took the lead of the rally after Tänak’s retirement, and became the sixth winner of this season’s fierce competition, giving him double the cause for celebration. Evans, who hails from Wales, also secured second place in the Drivers’ Championship with this victory. This is the fourth time he has achieved this, and it is a bittersweet milestone for him.
‘At one point, things weren’t going so well, but I’m very happy with the result and I’m happy for the team,’ said Evans. “Of course, I’m also grateful to my teammates. They did a great job. It’s a shame that I didn’t win the drivers” championship, but I’ll try again next year.’
Sébastien Ogier finished second for Toyota, 1:27.3 behind his team-mate. The eight-time world champion’s rally was marred by a puncture on Friday that forced him to change tyres and drop out of the fight for victory, but his recovery drive secured an important point for Toyota in the title chase.
Adrien Fourmaux finished his breakthrough season with a third place podium finish in the M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid. The French driver had a consistent season, finishing fifth in the Drivers’ Championship with five podium finishes in 2024, his best season to date.
Fourmaux finished just 7.1 seconds ahead of Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who delighted the home crowd with a fourth place finish. Grégoire Munster was the other M-Sport entry to finish in the top five.
In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin driving a Citroen C3 WRC2 achieved an overwhelming class victory and a fine 7th place overall, but it was not enough to prevent Sami Pajari (Toyota) from being confirmed as the champion. The Finn finished second in Japan, and it was a great year for co-driver Enni Mälkönen too, as the up-and-coming star won both the WRC2 and WRC2 Challenger titles.
The FIA World Rally Championship will restart in 2025 with an expanded calendar that includes brand new events in Saudi Arabia, Paraguay and Spain. WRC 2025 will resume with Rally Monte-Carlo, which will take place from 23 to 26 January.
| position | Driver | Total time | Difference |
| 1 | Elfyn Evans | 3:23:41.0 | |
| 2 | Sébastien Ogier | 3:25:08.3 | +1:27.3 |
| 3 | Adrien Fourmaux | 3:25:36.5 | +1:55.5 |
| 4 | Takamoto Katsuta | 3:25:43.6 | +2:02.6 |
| 5 | Grégoire Munster | 3:26:52.5 | +3:11.5 |
| 6 | Thierry Neuville | 3:30:35.1 | +6:54.1 |
| 7 WRC2 | Nikolay Gryazin | 3:33:45.3 | +10:04.3 |
| 8 WRC2 | Sami Pajari | 3:35:31.8 | +11:50.8 |
| 9 WRC2 | Hiroki Arai | 3:37:05.3 | +13:24.3 |
| 10 WRC2 | Gus Greensmith | 3:37:56.8 | +14:15.8 |
