The 2006 Rally Japan was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 1 and 3 September 2006. It marked the 3rd running of the Rally Japan, and was the eleventh round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. The event was also the fifth round of the 2006 Production World Rally Championship. The 2006 event was based in the town of Kita Aikoku near Obihiro in Japan and was contested over twenty seven special stages, covering a total competitive distance of 345.72km (214.82 miles).
Marcus Grönholm, along with BP Ford World Rally Team were the defending rally winners, trailing behind championship rival Sebastien Loeb by 31 points. Red Bull Škoda Team, as well as one of OMV Peugeot Norway's cars would miss the event.
Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena won the rally, their first win since the 2006 Rallye Deutschland and their seventh of the season.
Background Entry list The following crews were set to enter the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship and its support category, the Production World Rally Championship, as well as privateer entries that were not registered to score points in the manufacturer's championship. Eleven were entered under World Rally Car regulations, as were eleven in the Production WRC category.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 1 Sebastien Loeb Daniel Elena Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC 2 Dani Sordo Marc Martí Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC 3 Marcus Gronholm Timo Rautiainen BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 5 Petter Solberg Phil Mills Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 6 Chris Atkinson Glenn Macneall Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC 2006 7 Manfred Stohl Ilka Minor OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC 9 Matthew Wilson Michael Orr Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 10 Luis Perez Companc Jose Maria Volta Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car 32 Marcos Ligato Rubén García Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 33 Fumio Nutahara Daniel Barritt Advan-Piaa Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 34 Sebastián Beltran Ricardo Rojas Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 35 Gabriel Pozzo Daniel Stillo Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 36 Mirco Baldacci Giovanni Agnese Mitsubishi Paris West Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 37 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Motoring Club Subaru Impreza WRX STI 38 Leszek Kuzaj Maciej Szczepaniak Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 40 Stefano Marrini Sandroni Tiziana Errani Team Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 41 Takuma Kamada Denis Giraudet Subaru Team Quasys Subaru Impreza WRX STI 42 Loris Baldacci Dario D'Esposito Subaru Rally Team Russia Subaru Impreza WRX STI 45 Aki Teiskonen Miika Teiskonen Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car 12 Gareth MacHale Paul Nagle Tom Hogan Motors Ford Focus RS WRC 14 Toshihiro Arai Tony Sircombe Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Itinerary All dates and times are JST (UTC+9). Date No. Time span Stage name Distance 31 August — After 8:30 Obihiro SSS [Shakedown] 1.30 km 1 September SS1 After 8:03 Pawse Kamuy 1 9.05 km SS2 After 8:51 Rikubetsu 1 2.73 km SS3 After 9:27 Kanna 1 13.86 km SS4 After 9:50 Puray 1 34.96 km 12:20 Service A, Obihiro SS5 After 14:23 Pawse Kamuy 2 9.05 km SS6 After 15:11 Rikubetsu 2 2.73 km SS7 After 15:47 Kanna 2 25.61 km SS8 After 16:10 Puray 2 34.96 km SS9 After 18:45 Obihiro 1 1.30 km SS10 After 18:55 Obihiro 2 1.30 km 19:08 Service B, Obihiro 2 September 6:00 Service C, Obihiro SS11 After 7:26 Emina 8.18 km SS12 After 8:28 Rikubetsu 3 2.73 km SS13 After 8:53 Niueo 1 20.75 km SS14 After 9:25 Sipirkakim 1 22.43 km SS15 After 10:35 Menan 16.25 km 12:20 Service D, Obihiro SS16 After 14:48 Rikubetsu 4 2.73 km SS17 After 15:13 Niueo 2 20.75 km SS18 After 15:45 Sipirkakim 2 22.43 km SS19 After 16:55 Menan Short 9.17 km SS20 After 18:45 Obihiro 3 1.30 km SS21 After 18:55 Obihiro 4 1.30 km 19:08 Service E, Obihiro 3 September 6:00 Service F, Obihiro SS22 After 7:19 Rera Kamuy 8.76 km SS23 After 7:44 Panke Nikorpet 1 17.04 km SS24 After 8:20 Penke 1 24.88 km 10:00 Service G, Obihiro SS25 After 11:43 Panke Nikorpet 2 17.04 km SS26 After 12:19 Penke 2 24.88 km SS27 After 14:09 Obihiro 5 1.30 km 14:22 Service H, Obihiro Source:
Report Overall Summary
Opening the road on Friday, Loeb would begin the rally struggling in comparison to his championship rival Gronholm. Despite being fastest on the end-of-day super special stages, Loeb would trail his rival by just over ten seconds at the end of the day. Mikko Hirvonen would find himself in a comfortable third, as Atkinson struggled with mechanical issues throughout the day, being awarded a fifty second time penalty after leaving the service area later than scheduled.
Saturday morning would be much tighter between the leading pair; Gronholm would begin the morning with two stage wins, extending his lead, only for Loeb to fight back in the next stage, undoing all of his progress. Stage 14 would be where Gronholm lost the lead after a spin cost him nearly twenty seconds. The two would spend the rest of the day trading stage wins, and by the end of the second leg, Loeb would maintain a lead of over twenty seven seconds. Solberg would see various mechanical issues affect his Subaru, but in the afternoon he would close the gap back down to Sordo in front. Arai went off the road in stage 16, striking a photographer who suffered a leg injury from the accident. Arai would continue the rally with the blessing of the photographer, finishing the day in eighth.
On Sunday, Gronholm did all that he could to catch Loeb, winning four of the day's six stages, and closing the gap down to fifteen seconds by the mid day break. In the end, however, he simply would not have enough distance left to catch Loeb, who would cross the line victorious, leading by a much narrower 5.6 second lead. In winning the rally, Loeb beat the record for the most rallies won by a single driver in the World Rally Championship, previously held by Carlos Sainz. Companc would end the rally on the penultimate stage after crashing, while Sordo lost time negotiating the accident site, but was later excluded for not wearing seatbelts. MacHale would also end the rally early after striking a bridge in Stage 25.
Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class 1 1 1 Sebastien Loeb Daniel Elena Kronos Racing Citroën Xsara WRC 3:22:20.4 0.0 10 2 2 3 Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 3:22:26.4 +5.6 8 3 3 4 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen BP Ford World Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 3:25:06.9 +2:46.5 6 4 4 6 Chris Atkinson Glenn MacNeall Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC 3:28:28.2 +6:07.8 5 5 5 7 Manfred Stohl Ilka Minor OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team Peugeot 307 WRC 3:29:31.1 +7:10.7 4 6 6 14 Toshihiro Arai Tony Sircombe Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 3:31:25.5 +9:05.1 3 7 7 5 Petter Solberg Phil Mills Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC 3:34:04.1 +11:43.7 2 8 1 33 Fumio Nutahara Daniel Barritt Advan-Piaa Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:56:11.9 +15:21.5 1 11 8 10 Luis Perez Companc Jose Maria Volta Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 4:58:05.4 +17:15.0 0 40 9 9 Matthew Wilson Michael Orr Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team Ford Focus RS WRC 06 5:06:11.4 +25:21.0 0 Retired SS27 2 Dani Sordo Marc Marti Kronos Citroën World Rally Team Citroën Xsara WRC Excluded 0 Retired SS27 12 Gareth MacHale Paul Nagle Tom Hogan Motors Ford Focus RS WRC Mechanical 0
Special Stages All dates and times are JST (UTC+9). DayStageTimeNameLength (km)WinnerTimeRally leader 1(1 Sep) SS1 08:03 Pawse Kamuy 1 9.50 Marcus Grönholm 4:38.2 Marcus Grönholm SS2 08:51 Rikubetsu 1 2.73 Marcus Grönholm 2:12.1 SS3 09:27 Kanna 1 13.85 Sébastien Loeb 8:06.3 SS4 09:50 Puray 1 34.95 Marcus Grönholm 19:45.3 SS5 14:23 Pawse Kamuy 2 36.38 Marcus Grönholm 4:32.9 SS6 15:11 Rikubetsu 2 2.73 Marcus Grönholm 2:07.9 SS7 15:47 Kanna 2 13.85 Sébastien Loeb 7:52.2 SS8 16:10 Puray 2 34.95 Marcus Grönholm 19:06.7 SS9 18:45 Obihiro 1 1.29 Sébastien Loeb 1:14.2 SS10 18:55 Obihiro 2 1.29 Sébastien Loeb 1:15.0 2(2 Sep) SS11 07:26 Emina 8.18 Marcus Grönholm 5:42.1 SS12 08:28 Rikubetsu 3 2.73 Marcus Grönholm 2:07.4 SS13 08:53 Niueo 1 20.75 Sébastien Loeb 12:10.6 SS14 09:25 Sipirkakim 1 22.43 Sébastien Loeb 12:17.0 Sébastien Loeb SS15 10:35 Menan 16.25 Sébastien Loeb 10:17.3 SS16 14:48 Rikubetsu 4 2.73 Marcus Grönholm 2:04.2 SS17 15:13 Niueo 2 20.75 Sébastien Loeb 11:35.9 SS18 15:45 Sipirkakim 2 22.43 Marcus Grönholm 12:09.0 SS19 16:55 Menan Short 9.17 Marcus Grönholm 5:33.5 SS20 18:45 Obihiro 3 1.29 Sébastien Loeb 1:13.1 SS21 18:55 Obihiro 4 1.29 Sébastien Loeb 1:12.6 3(3 Sep) SS22 07:19 Rera Kamuy 8.76 Marcus Grönholm 5:07.2 SS23 07:44 Panke Nikorpet 1 17.40 Sébastien Loeb 9:36.8 SS24 08:20 Penke 1 24.87 Marcus Grönholm 14:44.3 SS25 11:43 Panke Nikorpet 2 17.40 Marcus Grönholm 9:13.4 SS26 12:19 Penke 2 24.87 Marcus Grönholm 14:21.5 SS27 14:09 Obihiro 5 1.29 Mikko Hirvonen 1:11.0
Championship Standings Drivers' Championship Manufacturers' ChampionshipMoveDriverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Sébastien Loeb 102 Kronos Citroën World Rally Team 132 2 Marcus Gronholm 69 BP Ford World Rally Team 121 3 Dani Sordo 41 Subaru World Rally Team 74 4 Mikko Hirvonen 33 OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team 50 5 Manfred Stohl 28 Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team 29
Production WRC Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class 8 1 33 Fumio Nutahara Daniel Barritt Advan-Piaa Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3:45:17.8 0.0 10 9 235 Gabriel Pozzo Daniel Stillo Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3:45:45.2 +27.4 8 10 3 32 Marcos Ligato Rubén García Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 3:46:19.0 +1:01.2 6 13 4 45 Aki Teiskonen Miika Teiskonen Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 3:49:20.4 +4:02.6 5 17 5 38 Leszek Kuzaj Maciej Szczepaniak Syms Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRX STI 3:56:37.7 +11:19.9 4 42 6 40 Stefano Marrini Sandroni Tiziana Errani Team Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:19:56.1 +34:38.3 3 46 7 36 Mirco Baldacci Giovanni Agnese Mitsubishi Paris West Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 4:24:14.7 +38:56.9 2 54 8 41 Takuma Kamada Denis Giraudet Subaru Team Quasys Subaru Impreza WRX STI 4:31:12.6 +45:54.8 1 69 9 37 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Motoring Club Subaru Impreza WRX STI 5:04:49.4 +1:19:31.6 0 75 10 34 Sebastián Beltran Ricardo Rojas Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 5:30:01.7 +1:44:43.9 0 Retired SS11 42 Loris Baldacci Dario D'Esposito Subaru Rally Team Russia Subaru Impreza WRX STI Accident 0
Championship Standings Drivers' Championship MoveDriverPoints 1 Nasser Al-Attiyah 34 2 3 Fumio Nutahara 20 3 1 Mirco Baldacci 19 4 Leszek Kuzaj 17 5 2 Toshihiro Arai 15
References
External links Results at eWRC.com Results at Jonkka's World Rally Archive Maps at Rally Maps