The 2023 Rally Japan (also known as the FORUM8 Rally Japan 2023) was a motor racing event for rally cars held from 16 to 19 November 2023. It marked the eighth running of the Rally Japan, and was the final round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The event was based in Nagoya in Chūbu Region and was contested over twenty-two special stages covering a total competitive distance of .
Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were the defending rally winners. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners. Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin won their second rally of the season. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturer's winners. Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak won the 2023 WRC-2 Challenger title. Jason Bailey and Shayne Peterson won the World Rally Championship-3 category.
Background Entry list The following crews entered into the rally. The event was opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3 and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Nine entered under Rally1 regulations, as were ten Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2 and one Rally3 crew in the World Rally Championship-3.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 16 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 17 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Torstein Eriksen Toksport WRT 3 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Driver, Team 21 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Toksport WRT 3 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 22 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 23 Heikki Kovalainen Sae Kitagawa Heikki Kovalainen Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 25 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 26 Osamu Fukunaga Misako Saida Osamu Fukunaga Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 27 Alexander Villanueva José Murado González Alexander Villanueva Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 28 Eamonn Boland Michael Joseph Morrissey Eamonn Boland Citroën C3 Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver 29 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 30 Satoshi Imai Jason Farmer Satoshi Imai Citroën C3 Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 31 Jason Bailey Shayne Peterson Jason Bailey Ford Fiesta Rally3
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 24 Grégoire Munster Louis Louka M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2
Itinerary All dates and times are JST (UTC+9). Date No. Time span Stage name Distance 16 November — After 9:01 Kuragaike Park [Shakedown] 2.75 km After 18:52 Opening ceremony, Toyota Stadium SS1 After 19:05 Toyota Stadium SSS 1 2.10 km 17 November 5:34 – 5:49 Service A, Toyota Stadium SS2 After 7:04 Isegami's Tunnel 1 23.60 km SS3 After 8:04 Inabu Dam 1 19.38 km SS4 After 9:02 Shitara Town 1 22.53 km 11:11 – 11:41 Regroup, Toyota Stadium 11:41 – 12:21 Service B, Toyota Stadium SS5 After 13:36 Isegami's Tunnel 2 23.60 km SS6 After 14:36 Inabu Dam 2 19.38 km SS7 After 15:34 Shitara Town 2 22.53 km 18:03 – 18:48 Flexi service C, Toyota Stadium SS8 After 19:35 Toyota Stadium SSS 2 2.10 km 18 November 6:45 – 7:00 Service D, Toyota Stadium SS9 After 8:04 Nukata Forest 1 20.32 km SS10 After 9:05 Lake Mikawako 1 14.78 km 10:45 – 11:05 Regroup, Okazaki SS11 After 11:15 Okazaki City SSS 1 3.18 km SS12 After 11:26 Okazaki City SSS 2 3.18 km 11:31 – 12:16 Regroup, Okazaki 12:16 – 12:31 Tyre fitting zone, Okazaki SS13 After 13:04 Nukata Forest 2 20.32 km SS14 After 14:05 Lake Mikawako 2 14.78 km SS15 After 15:11 Shinshiro City 6.70 km 17:01 – 17:46 Flexi service E, Toyota Stadium SS16 After 19:35 Toyota Stadium SSS 3 2.10 km 19 November 5:39 – 5:54 Service F, Toyota Stadium SS17 After 7:05 Asahi Kougen 1 7.52 km SS18 After 8:03 Ena City 1 22.92 km SS19 After 8:56 Nenoue Kougen 1 11.60 km 9:31 – 10:01 Regroup, Nakatsugawa Park 10:01 – 10:31 Tyre fitting zone, Nakatsugawa Park SS20 After 11:04 Ena City 2 22.92 km SS21 After 11:57 Nenoue Kougen 2 11.60 km 13:32 – 14:12 Regroup, Asahi Government SS22 After 14:15 Asahi Kougen 2 [Power Stage] 7.52 km After 16:00 Official finish, Toyota Stadium Source:
Report WRC Rally1 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:32:08.8 0.0 25 0 2 2 17 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:33:26.5 +1:17.7 18 1 3 3 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:33:55.3 +1:46.5 15 0 4 4 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:34:59.1 +2:50.3 12 3 5 5 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:35:19.1 +3:10.3 10 2 6 6 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 3:35:37.1 +3:28.3 8 4 13 7 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 4:00:13.5 +28:04.7 0 5 Retired SS2 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Accident 0 0 Retired SS2 16 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Accident 0 0
Special stages Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 2:03.0 SS1 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 1:47.6 Neuville / Wydaeghe SS2 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 20:17.8 Evans / Martin SS3 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:20.0 SS4 Stage cancelled SS5 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 19:08.1 Evans / Martin SS6 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 12:48.5 SS7 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:33.6 SS8 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 2:00.0 SS9 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 15:15.2 SS10 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:14.8 SS11 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:20.2 SS12 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:18.7 SS13 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:33.5 SS14 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 10:35.8 SS15 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:19.7 SS16 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 1:47.0 SS17 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 5:04.2 SS18 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 18:09.9 SS19 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:16.3 SS20 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 18:03.7 SS21 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:16.6 SS22 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 4:48.8
Championship standings Bold text indicates 2023 World Champions. Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Kalle Rovanperä 250 Jonne Halttunen 250 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 548 2 Elfyn Evans 216 Scott Martin 216 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 432 3 Thierry Neuville 189 Martijn Wydaeghe 189 M-Sport Ford WRT 287 4 Ott Tänak 174 Martin Järveoja 174 5 Sébastien Ogier 133 Vincent Landais 133
WRC-2 Rally2 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Stage Event 7 1 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Torstein Eriksen Toksport WRT 3 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:39:42.5 0.0 25 1 6 8 2 21 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Toksport WRT 3 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:40:58.4 +1:15.9 18 3 4 9 3 22 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:51:34.7 +11:52.2 15 2 2 11 4 26 Osamu Fukunaga Misako Saida Osamu Fukunaga Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:56:47.8 +17:05.3 12 0 0 12 5 25 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 4:00:01.8 +20:19.3 10 0 0 14 6 28 Eamonn Boland Michael Joseph Morrissey Eamonn Boland Citroën C3 Rally2 4:00:47.4 +21:04.9 8 0 0 18 7 29 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 4:32:39.2 +52:56.7 6 0 0 24 8 30 Satoshi Imai Jason Farmer Satoshi Imai Citroën C3 Rally2 5:19:31.7 +1:39:49.2 4 0 0 Retired SS14 23 Heikki Kovalainen Sae Kitagawa Heikki Kovalainen Škoda Fabia R5 Transmission 0 0 0 Did not start 27 Alexander Villanueva José Murado González Alexander Villanueva Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Withdrawn 0 0 0
Special stages
+ Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:09.1 SS1 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:52.9 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS2 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 20:44.6 Mikkelsen / Eriksen SS3 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 14:36.2 SS4 Stage cancelled SS5 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 19:58.4 Mikkelsen / Eriksen SS6 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 13:30.9 SS7 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:16.9 SS8 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:05.9 SS9 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 16:01.3 SS10 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:45.4 SS11 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:25.5 SS12 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 2:24.3 SS13 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 15:10.0 SS14 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 11:48.6 SS15 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:35.0 SS16 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:52.1 SS17 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 5:21.6 SS18 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 18:53.1 SS19 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 8:49.1 SS20 Mikkelsen / Eriksen Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 18:47.0 SS21 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 8:53.5 SS22 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 5:10.2