RALLY JAPAN
31 OCTOBER 2008
DAY 1
MITSUBISHIS DOMINATE P-WRC IN JAPAN, WITH LANCER EVOLUTION X MAKING STRONG DEBUT PWRC CLASSIFICATION
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drivers hold seven of the top 10 positions in the Production Car World Rally Championship category at the end of day one of Rally Japan. Evgeny Novikov (Russia) leads the penultimate round of the P-WRC, the 18-year-old moving ahead of day-long leader Eyvind Brynildsen when the latter spun his Lancer on SS9.
EVGENY NOVIKOV / DIMITRY CHUMAK
The opening day of Rally Japan was marked by cancelled stages - the third and seventh tests were shelved after heavy snowfall in the lead up to the event, while SS6 was stopped following the accident of Francois Duval (Belgium). In order to ensure the cars were on time for the Sapporo Dome superspecial stage, SS8 was cancelled to make up for the earlier delays. The stages all ran out east of Sapporo through some of the most technical and demanding dirt roads incorporated in the calndar this season.
Through all the drama, Norwegian Eyvind Brynildsen kept his head together and his right foot down. Brynildsen enjoyed a trouble-free run until his spin, which allowed Novikov to overturn the different - which was less than a second - between them.
Novikov said: "It's been hard to find grip on all of the stages today. The twistier stages this morning worked well and we made some good times there, but I think I was too cautious on the faster corners in the fourth stage. I dropped some time there. The first stage after lunch was good, we closed right up on Brynildsen."
Brynildsen, who dropped to third overnight, said: "I had no championship points to worry about here. That meant I can drive at my own speed. I had some understeer from the car, but I think this is because of my style of driving. As well as that, it's hard not to get understeer when the car is following in the ruts all of the time. It's been like driving a train on the rails. The spin on the last stage was very frustrating, it cost about five seconds."
The Russian driver did just that, arriving back in Sapporo with just four tenths of a second separating the top two positions. One of the most exciting stories of the event so far has been the exceptional pace and reliability of the all-new Lancer Evolution X, which makes its World Rally Championship debut on this event.
Multiple Japanese Rally Champion Fumio Nutahara placed his Evolution X in fifth place, with the sister car of Katsuhiko Taguchi one place further back. Nutahara said: "The car has been perfect, we have not had any technical problems. I might make some small adjustments to the suspension, but this is to help to find some more traction in the slippery conditions. The only trouble we had this morning was two slow punctures. We only had one spare tire, which meant I went into SS4 with a deflating right-rear tire. Apart from that, it's a good day - and it's very nice to be driving this car here at home."
FUMIO NUTAHARA / HAKARU ICHINO
It was a similar story from Taguchi. He said: "I am learning very much about this car. I did a small test before the start, but the road was not so much like the rally. The car feels very responsive, very fast. But today has been difficult with the conditions."
KATSUHIKO TAGUCHI / MARK STACEY
P-WRC title protagonist Juho Hanninen (Finland) struggled through the opening leg, running in an unusually low position out of the points. Hanninen admitted the treacherous conditions on the opening loop of stages had caught him by surprise.
"It's been very hard work today," he said. "I couldn't find any grip and there was no rhythm for me in the stages. It was terrible. The fourth stage was a little bit better, but still not so enjoyable. I tried to speed up in SS4, but I was having moments when I tried to make the time up."
At the head of the field, Ford men Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) and Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) settled into a solid early pace, with Sebastien Loeb (France) starting slowly, but speeding up to make third by the close of play.
| FIA PWRC CLASSIFICATION | ||||||
| Pos | Driver Co-Driver | Nat | Vehicle | Grp Pos | Total Time | Diff Leader |
| 1 | Evgeny NOVIKOV Dale MOSCATT | RUS AUS | MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO IX | N 2 | 45:49.6 | **:**:**.* |
| 2 | Toshi ARAI Glenn MACNEALL | J AUS | SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STi | N 3 | 45:54.9 | 5.3 |
| 3 | Eyvind BRYNILDSEN Mathieu GIRAUDET | N F | MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO IX | N 4 | 46:06.1 | 16.5 |
| 4 | Mirco BALDACCI Giovanni AGNESE | RSM I | MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO IX | N 5 | 46:12.7 | 23.1 |
| 5 | Katsuhiko TAGUCHI Mark STACEY | J AUS | MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO X | N 6 | 46:15.1 | 25.5 |
| 6 | Fumio NUTAHARA Hakaru ICHINO | J J | MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO X | N 7 | 46:17.3 | 27.7 |
| 7 | Takuma KAMADA Naoki KASE | J J | SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STi | N 9 | 46:26.7 | 37.1 |
| 8 | Naren KUMAR Nicky BEECH | IND GB | SUBARU IMPREZA WRX STi | N 10 | 46:35.4 | 45.8 |
Pictures from Shakedown [30-NOV-08]
FUMIO NUTAHARA / HAKARU ICHINO
KATSUHIKO TAGUCHI / MARK STACEY
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