M-Sport Ford World Rally Team embarks upon its final journey of the 2024 World Rally Championship, heading for the stunning scenes of Rally Japan. M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 pairings of Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria, and Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka are geared up to deliver strong performances to round off an intense season.
Based in Toyota City in the Aichu region, this year’s edition represents the third time Rally Japan has hosted the final round of the championship. Appearing as a Tarmac round since its return to WRC in 2022, the tight and twisty roads covered by trees deliver unpredictable grip levels. Variable weather conditions during the autumn season makes Rally Japan the perfect nail biter to finish a year of high tension and excitement for M-Sport and the championship as a whole.
The event will cover over 1,000 total kilometres across Japan’s picturesque Aichi and Gifu regions between Thursday and Sunday. With only tyre-fitting zones to punctuate both Friday and Saturday’s full days of action, crews will once again be tasked to manage long rally days with little mechanical support.
Returning to Toyota Stadium for action-packed Super Special stages on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, spectators will look forward to seeing the rally spectacle up close and personal, where crews will enjoy the incredible atmosphere brought by swathes of local fans lining the walls of the stadium.
Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria will look to make an impact in Japan at the end of a highly successful season. Since claiming their maiden WRC podium in Sweden earlier this year with the Ford Puma Rally1, the French pairing have gone on to claim a further three podiums and a strong collection of stage wins throughout a highly competitive season.
Japan will represent a full-circle moment for Fourmaux, finishing another full season after making his return to Rally1 machinery here with M-Sport last year. Although gaining limited experience last year after having to retire from the event on Friday morning, Fourmaux still aims to end his season with an asphalt podium result here in Japan.
Also aiming for a strong result in Japan, Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka will benefit from two years’ experience here in Rally2 machinery. After claiming the WRC2 class win in 2022, Munster would go on to take six WRC2 stage wins in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 in 2023 and was second overall until going off the road on Sunday.
Matching his best WRC finish to-date after claiming fifth overall on the Central European Rally last month, Munster will aim to use his prior experience in Japan to set a competitive pace and round off the year on a strong note.
Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:
“It’s been a long, but positive season for the team and it’s always a privilege to round off the season here in front of the passionate Japanese fans. I’m hopeful Adrien can make up for his short event here last year and finish the season in style with another podium chase. Grégoire has had a really good first full season in Rally1 and he has good results here in the past so there is no reason he cannot be looking to equal, or better his career best result to date this weekend.
“It will be a hard weekend with only tyre fitting zones on two days, and tricky stage conditions, but we know the Puma can be strong when it’s like this - so let’s see what we can do for one final weekend this year!”
Adrien Fourmaux said:
“Japan is the last rally of the season, we want to finish the great season we’ve had with a nice result, especially on Tarmac. There are some really tricky, technical roads here and it is quite narrow in places, and the forests can be quite dark this time of year.
“Because it’s a long-haul event, no one has done any testing in preparation, so it’s going to be interesting to see where we can be compared to the others. I’m also looking forward to experiencing the culture again, we didn’t get the result we wanted last time so hopefully this year we can combine success with a great experience of the country.”
Grégoire Munster said:
“Japan is a rally I like a lot, I have been quite competitive here in the Rally2 category in the last couple of years. Plus it is really nice to come to Japan and enjoy another culture. I always notice the love of motorsport and rally here is as big, or even bigger, than in Europe so it’s nice to experience the atmosphere. There are a lot of nice ceremonies, especially the prize giving in the stadium, where a lot of fans gather which is really cool.
“Regarding the stages, there are some new stages on the itinerary this year which will be exciting and the weather conditions are always challenging in Japan during this season. So anything can happen!”
Published 19 November