Rally Japan : Subaru / PCWRC - Finish
The final day of Rally Japan dawned clear as the crews headed out for the last five stages of the gravel event. Comprising two pairs of new stages intersected by a final visit to the Satsunai Super Special, competitors would cover 85 competitive kilometres before reaching the ceremonial finish at 15:00.
The day opened with the Panke Nikorpet 1 test, 17.04kms over bumpy terrain, though far less rough conditions than crews faced on yesterday afternoon`s tests. Toshi was quickest over the stage, his time of 10:40.9 some 10.3 seconds faster than Nutahara in the Mitsubishi; this despite the fact that he and co-driver Tony Sircombe were ‘taking it fairly easy`. Meanwhile Marcos Ligato, on a charge and running noticeably quicker than on the first two days, took second on the stage. Aki set the fourth best time, and Sebastien Beltran was sixth quickest. Running under SupeRally, Omani driver Hamed Al Wahaibi was back in action today, albeit some way back. He set competitive times, running seventh on SS22.
Cody Crocker continued to impress, setting the 2nd-quickest Group N time – 2.9 seconds off Arai`s – and 7.4 quicker than Nutahara.
Back in PCWRC, Aki Teiskonen remained firmly in third place, with Marcos Ligato`s hard work this morning paying off handsomely when Mitsubishi driver Villagra went out on SS23, moving the Argentinean up to fourth.
The day`s second test, SS23 saw Toshi top the times again, this time coming across the beam 3.0 seconds ahead of Nutahara. The stage (Penke 1 – 24.88kms), is the longest of the day, and was reported to be getting progressively more rutted as crews went through. Hamed picked up the pace again, setting the fifth best time just behind the two Barattero drivers, Marcos Ligato (3rd) and Sebastien Beltran (4th).
The crews then came in for a brief Service before heading out to the final trio of stages of the event.
Driver comments at the mid-morning Service
Marcos Ligato
“The roads have generally been very good this morning, better than yesterday, that`s for sure! It`s much easier on the car today too.”
Sebastien Beltran
“These two stages were very slippery in places. We had to go slow in some spots. It`s more important to keep our position now than fight the guys ahead. We are concentrating on getting as many championship points as possible. No risks at this point.”
Cody Crocker
“There were a few good ruts, though it wasn`t too bad. It was very slippery in places, but good fun. On the second stage there were some really big rocks on the road – immense slabs! The second time through should be interesting.”
The first test out of Service was the immensely popular Satsunai Super Special. Nutahara (in his element) was quickest, with Toshi 1.8 seconds back. Aki Teiskonen took third, Marcos and Sebastien following closely behind.
After blasting around the spectator stage one last time, it was back into the forests for the final pair of tests. Though only 40 kilometres remained, anything was still possible.
Toshi Arai was under no illusions as to the importance of his performance on these two last tests, the results of which would determine the strength of his bid for the title going into the final round of the season in Australia.
As it happened, Toshi maintained the pace he`d kept up throughout the three days, setting the top time on the penultimate test, Panke Nikorpet 2. The gaps to the other competitors having stabilized throughout the day, Nutahara occupied second place (nearly two minutes behind the leader), four minutes ahead of Aki Teiskonen. Marcos Ligato was a further four minutes back, Sebastien Beltran an equal gap in arrears in fifth, with Hamed Al Wahaibi sixth.
The stage positions didn`t affect the results however; and at the end of the day it was Toshi Arai who scored his third victory of the season (after wins in Sweden and Turkey) to lead the drivers` points standings. Fumio Nutahara took second ahead of Aki Teiskonen; with Marcos Ligato fourth, Sebastien Beltran fifth, and Hamed Al Wahaibi in sixth.
Cody Crocker flew through the last three stages, making it a 1-2 for Subaru in Group N overall after finishing one minute behind Arai, and more importantly, 37 seconds of Nutahara.
Toshi Arai
“It`s really fantastic to have won – especially here in Japan in front of the Japanese fans. There was so much pressure, but now all that`s been released. As this was my home event, I really wanted to win. It was really motivating to see so many people waving flags along the sides of the stages.”
Aki Teiskonen
“We were going along fine on SS25 when we hit a really big hole, and this broke the gear selector so we had to run for over 12kms in fourth. I`m happy with 3rd place overall, and this medal (Ryuichiro Kuse Memorial Award) is really nice too! The rally was a good experience; particularly as it`s just my second event outside of Europe. My first, (New Zealand) lasted only six stages so I`m very happy to get points here. We learned a lot on this rally – especially concerning slippery conditions.”
Marcos Ligato
“After the mid-morning Service we just focused on getting the maximum points. I`m really looking forward to Australia. We have only one choice there and that is to go for the win. If we`re lucky and Toshi has problems, we`ll be in for a chance at the title – otherwise, it`s going to be impossible to take it.”
With one round to go in the Production Car World Rally Championship, Toshi Arai leads the drivers` standings on 40 points, followed by Marcos Ligato (33) and Nasser Al Attiyah (31). The title fight will be a battle between these three when the series visits Western Australia in six weeks` time for what promises to be an incredibly exciting finale to the 2005 PCWRC season.


Tags: japan, subaru, group-n, toshio-arai,