On Friday 15th November, the Welcome Ceremony for the ‘World Rally Championship Forum8 Rally Japan’ was held in the International Conference Room of the House of Representatives No.1 Building in Nagatacho, Tokyo. Representatives from WRC manufacturer teams appeared before around 150 members of the press and partners who had gathered for the event.
Attending the ceremony were Jari-Matti Latvala, team principal of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WORLD RALLY TEAM, Takamoto Katsuta and Elfyn Evans, both of whom are members of the team, HYUNDAI SHELL MOBIS WORLD RALLY TEAM’s Thierry Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, and M-SPORT FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM’s Grégoire Munster.
On behalf of the organisers, Rally Japan 2024 Commission Chairman Toshihiko Ōta said, ‘Welcome to Japan, drivers. We extend a warm welcome to you all. Thanks to the cooperation of everyone, including FORUM8, we have been able to hold the FORUM8 Rally Japan again this year. We are deeply grateful. Rally Japan has received a very high appraisal for its environmental policies, including the three-star rating it received in February this year under the FIA’s environmental certification system. At this year’s event, we will work towards achieving a more sustainable event and a carbon-neutral society’.
When each driver was introduced, Neuville, who is leading the Driver’s Championship rankings and is coming into this rally in first place, said, ‘I won Rally Japan in my first year, and it’s special because it’s the final round of the 2024 season championship that started in Monte Carlo. I love Japan, and this year I’ve been able to come to Japan in first place in the rankings right from the start, so my mindset is different from before. We know exactly what we have to do, so we’ll do our best to achieve it.”
Munster then said, ‘Rally Japan is also very special for me. I first came here two years ago and was able to win my first WRC2 victory. The course is difficult and the weather changes can be challenging, but this year I’m going to drive my Rally1 car as hard as I can.
TGR team representative Latvala commented, ‘Unfortunately, our chances of winning the drivers’ championship are gone, but this is our home rally. The gap to Hyundai is only 15 points, so we don’t think it will be easy, but we still haven’t given up and we’re going to do our best to win the manufacturers’ championship. The whole team has come here with high motivation. Katsuta added, ’I’d like to thank everyone involved who has spent a long time preparing for this rally. This rally is extremely important to me, and two years ago I finished on the podium in third place, so this time I want to do even better. I also want to help the team win the manufacturers’ title. I’m in good shape and confident. There is pressure, but I’ll turn that into motivation and do my best while enjoying myself.”
When he heard that Neuville, who was in the running to become the first Belgian to win the WRC, was going to be attending the event, the Belgian Ambassador to Japan, Antoine Evrard, said, ‘On behalf of Belgium, I am truly proud of your achievements,’ and gave Neuville words of encouragement as he prepared to compete in Rally Japan. This was a very important day for the Kingdom of Belgium, and although the embassy was in the middle of another event, they made a special effort to come and see Neuville. He was pictured with fellow Belgian driver, Munster. Although Ott Tänak, who hails from Estonia, was unable to attend the ceremony, the Estonian ambassador, Maite Martinsson, was there to cheer him on. The ambassador told Neuville, ‘I’m cheering for Ott, but please do your best too,’ to which Neuville replied, ‘Of course we’re teammates, but the competition is a different thing. We’ll compete to the best of our abilities without holding back.’
After the ceremony, the drivers moved to a club in Roppongi. They joined a welcome party where around 100 people from partner companies and around 200 fans were waiting for them. They relaxed and enjoyed interacting with their fans before the rally begins.
The WRC drivers will be heading to Toyota City from tomorrow onwards, in preparation for the recce that starts on Monday. They will next appear in front of their fans at a fan meeting to be held at Meitetsu Toyota-shi Station at 17:00 on Wednesday 20th. Don’t miss it!
