The 2026 Rally Japan (also known as the FORUM8 Rally Japan 2026) was a motor racing event for rally cars held over four days from 28 to 31 May 2026. It marked the eleventh running of the Rally Japan, and was the seventh round of the 2026 World Rally Championship, 2026 WRC2 Championship and 2026 WRC3 Championship. The 2026 event was based in Nagoya in Chūbu Region, and was consisted of twenty special stages, covering a total competitive distance of .
Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais were the defending rally winners, and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturer's winners. Alejandro Cachón and Borja Rozada were the defending rally winners in the WRC2 championship. Ghjuvanni Rossi and Kylian Sarmezan were the defending rally winners in the WRC3 championship.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin won their second rally of the season, and their team, Toyota, successfully defended their titles. Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov were the winners in the WRC2 category. Rossi and Sarmezan successfully defended their titles in the WRC3 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 WRC2 Championship, the WRC3 Championship and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Ten crews entered under Rally1 regulations, as were eleven Rally2 crews in the WRC2 Championship and three Rally3 crews in the WRC3 Championship.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 1 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 5 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer, Team 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 16 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver 20 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 55 Josh McErlean Eoin Treacy M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 95 Jon Armstrong Shane Byrne M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 99 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer + No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 21 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Nikolay Gryazin Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 22 Alejandro Cachón Borja Rozada Toyota España Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger Driver, Co-driver 23 Emil Lindholm Gabriel Morales Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 24 Diego Domínguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Domínguez Jr. Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 26 Andrea Lafarja Andrés Blanco Andrea Lafarja Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 27 Yuki Yamamoto James Fulton Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger Driver, Co-driver 28 Hiroki Arai Hiroki Tachikui R2R×YAHAGI Racing Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 29 Norihiko Katsuta Takahiro Yasui Toyota Gazoo Racing WRJ Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 30 Fumio Nutahara Shungo Azuma Fumio Nutahara Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 31 Osamu Fukunaga Misako Saida Osamu Fukunaga Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver 32 Satoshi Imai Yuki Ogawa Satoshi Imai Citroën C3 Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver + No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Class/Championship eligibility Tyre 34 Georgios Vasilakis Allan Harryman Georgios Vasilakis Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3, Masters Driver, Masters Co-Driver 35 Ghjuvanni Rossi Kylian Sarmezan Ghjuvanni Rossi Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3 36 Nicolas Otto Boehringer Hugo Magalhães Nicolas Otto Boehringer Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC3 + No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 25 Romet Jürgenson Siim Oja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2
Itinerary All dates and times are JST (UTC+9). Date No. Time span Stage name Distance 28 May — After 8:01 Kuragaike Park [Shakedown] 2.53 km After 18:00 Opening ceremony 29 May SS1 After 8:03 Asuke 1 12.90 km SS2 After 8:46 Isegami's Tunnel 1 24.29 km SS3 After 10:09 Inabu / Shitara 1 17.08 km 11:54 – 12:24 Regroup, Toyota Stadium 12:24 – 12:54 Service A, Toyota Stadium SS4 After 13:57 Asuke 2 12.90 km SS5 After 14:40 Isegami's Tunnel 2 24.29 km SS6 After 16:03 Inabu / Shitara 2 17.08 km 18:28 – 19:13 Flexi service B, Toyota Stadium 30 May 6:18 – 6:33 Service C, Toyota Stadium SS7 After 7:41 Obara 1 16.44 km SS8 After 8:54 Ena 1 21.16 km SS9 After 10:35 Obara 1 19.32 km 11:15 – 12:04 Regroup, Enakyo Park 12:04 – 12:19 Tyre fitting zone, Enakyo Park SS10 After 13:05 Obara 2 19.32 km SS11 After 14:38 Ena 2 21.16 km SS12 After 15:56 Obara 2 16.44 km 16:56 – 17:09 Regroup, Aichi Greenery Center SS13 After 17:15 Fujioka SSS 1 3.19 km SS14 After 17:38 Fujioka SSS 2 3.19 km 18:33 – 19:18 Flexi service D, Toyota Stadium 31 May 7:01 – 7:16 Service E, Toyota Stadium SS15 After 8:14 Nukata 1 20.49 km SS16 After 9:05 Lake Mikawako 1 13.98 km SS17 After 10:13 Kuragaike SSS 1 2.56 km SS18 After 10:32 Kuragaike SSS 2 2.56 km 10:57 – 11:17 Regroup, Toyota Stadium 11:17 – 11:32 Service F, Toyota Stadium SS19 After 12:30 Nukata 2 20.49 km 13:15 – 14:10 Regroup, Mikawako Enchi SS20 After 14:15 Lake Mikawako 2 [Power Stage] 13.98 km After 15:15 Podium ceremony, Shimoyama Health Centre After 15:45 Official finish Source:
Report WRC Rally1 Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Sunday Stage Total 1 1 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:17:08.0 0.0 25 2 1 28 2 2 1 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:17:20.8 +12.8 17 3 3 23 3 3 5 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:17:59.4 +51.4 15 1 2 18 4 4 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:18:11.5 +1:03.5 12 4 4 20 5 5 16 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:19:42.8 +2:34.8 10 0 0 10 6 6 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:20:21.6 +3:13.6 8 0 0 8 7 7 20 Hayden Paddon John Kennard Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:21:52.8 +4:44.8 6 0 0 6 8 8 95 Jon Armstrong Shane Byrne M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 3:22:53.2 +5:45.2 4 0 0 4 10 9 55 Josh McErlean Eoin Treacy M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 3:26:31.0 +9:23.0 1 0 0 1 21 10 99 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 4:06:51.6 +49:43.6 0 5 5 10 Source:
Special stages Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:55.3 SS1 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 7:29.0 Solberg / Edmondson SS2 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 19:00.2 Evans / Martin SS3 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 10:42.9 SS4 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 7:10.5 SS5 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 18:15.0 SS6 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 10:22.8 SS7 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 9:59.5 SS8 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 15:00.3 SS9 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 12:34.7 SS10 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 12:30.2 SS11 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:58.1 SS12 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 9:59.7 SS13 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:50.4 SS14 Pajari / Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:48.6 SS15 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:52.4 SS16 Katsuta / Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:40.8 SS17 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:55.8 SS18 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:54.5 SS19 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:45.0 SS20 Solberg / Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:36.2 Source:
Championship standings
+MoveDriverPoints 1 Elfyn Evans 151 2 Takamoto Katsuta 131 3 Oliver Solberg 102 1 4 Sami Pajari 96 1 5 Sébastien Ogier 90
+MoveDriverPoints 1 Scott Martin 151 2 Aaron Johnston 131 3 Elliott Edmondson 102 1 4 Marko Salminen 96 1 5 Vincent Landais 90
+MoveDriverPoints 1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 370 2 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 243 3 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 106 4 M-Sport Ford WRT 85
WRC2 Rally2 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Event 9 1 21 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Nikolay Gryazin Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 3:26:29.3 0.0 25 2 11 2 22 Alejandro Cachón Borja Rozada Toyota España Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:26:47.6 +18.3 17 0 12 3 27 Yuki Yamamoto James Fulton Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:29:23.7 +2:54.4 15 0 13 4 23 Emil Lindholm Gabriel Morales Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:30:19.6 +3:50.3 12 0 15 5 28 Hiroki Arai Hiroki Tachikui R2R×YAHAGI Racing Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:34:06.9 +7:37.6 10 0 16 6 29 Norihiko Katsuta Takahiro Yasui Toyota Gazoo Racing WRJ Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:40:41.4 +14:12.1 8 0 17 7 30 Fumio Nutahara Shungo Azuma Fumio Nutahara Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 3:44:46.3 +18:17.0 6 0 19 8 26 Andrea Lafarja Andrés Blanco Andrea Lafarja Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 4:00:35.3 +34:06.0 4 0 20 9 32 Satoshi Imai Yuki Ogawa Satoshi Imai Citroën C3 Rally2 4:01:56.2 +35:26.9 2 0 24 10 31 Osamu Fukunaga Misako Saida Osamu Fukunaga Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 4:10:01.6 +43:32.3 1 0 Retired SS10 24 Diego Domínguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Domínguez Jr. Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 Accident 0 0 Source:
Special stages
+ Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 2:00.8 SS1 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 7:45.0 Cachón / Rozada SS2 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 19:49.1 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS3 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 11:08.0 SS4 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 7:34.4 Cachón / Rozada SS5 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 19:09.0 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS6 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 10:48.9 Cachón / Rozada SS7 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 10:33.0 SS8 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 15:41.1 Gryazin / Aleksandrov SS9 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 13:10.1 SS10 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 13:06.8 SS11 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 15:42.2 SS12 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 10:30.1 SS13 Lindholm / Morales Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 1:56.9 SS14 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 1:55.2 Lindholm / Morales Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 SS15 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 12:32.8 SS16 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 9:04.6 SS17 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 2:00.0 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 SS18 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 1:59.2 SS19 Cachón / Rozada Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 12:24.9 SS20 Gryazin / Aleksandrov Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale 9:00.1 Source: