Home Run: Toyota eyes Rally Japan victory
Toyota will also have a home interest in the WRC2 field. TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto will compete in one of seven GR Yaris Rally2 entries.
Daily TribuneToyota will also have a home interest in the WRC2 field. TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto will compete in one of seven GR Yaris Rally2 entries.
TOYOTA heads to Rally Japan with five wins from six rounds and all five drivers inside the championship top six.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF TOYOTA
MOUNTAIN roads in Aichi and Gifu await Toyota Gazoo Racing as the team chases another Rally Japan home win.
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team heads to Rally Japan with a strong chance of adding another home victory as the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship reaches round seven, from 28 to 31 May.
The team arrives in Japan after a strong first half of the season. Toyota has won five of the first six rallies and holds a 93-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship. All five of its drivers are also inside the top six of the drivers’ standings.
Elfyn Evans leads the championship and returns to an event where he has already delivered for Toyota. The Welsh driver won Rally Japan in 2023 and 2024. He enters this year’s rally with a 12-point lead over teammate Takamoto Katsuta.
Katsuta will carry much of the local attention. The Japanese driver returns to home roads after scoring his first two WRC wins earlier this season in Kenya and Croatia. He also finished on the podium at Rally Japan in 2022, giving him another reason to chase a bigger result this time.
Oliver Solberg is third in the standings, 31 points behind Evans. He started the season with a win at Rallye Monte-Carlo and will compete in Rally1 machinery in Japan for the first time. Solberg raced in Japan last year in a GR Yaris Rally2 and won his class.
Sami Pajari also has recent Rally Japan form. He scored his first WRC podium at the event last November and has added four more podium finishes since then. He sits fifth in the standings.
Nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier completes Toyota’s top-six presence. Ogier has competed in four rallies this season and won Rally Islas Canarias.
Toyota will also have a home interest in the WRC2 field. TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto will compete in one of seven GR Yaris Rally2 entries. Alejandro Cachón returns after winning the category in Japan last year. He will be joined by MSi Racing Team drivers Diego Domínguez and Andrea Lafarja. Japanese Rally Championship regulars Hiroki Arai, Norihiko Katsuta and Fumio Nutahara are also entered.
Rally Japan has been held on narrow asphalt roads in the Aichi and Gifu prefectures since it returned to the WRC calendar in 2022. The roads around Nagoya are known for tight sections through forested mountain areas. Rain has affected past editions, and the risk remains even with the rally now shifted from November to late May.
The new date could also bring higher temperatures. Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala said the warmer conditions may affect tyre behavior and grip levels. He said Toyota expects strong support from Japanese fans, especially after Katsuta’s early-season wins.
The Toyota Stadium remains the rally’s service park. This year’s event will also enter Nagoya for the first time with a ceremonial start at the city’s historic castle on Thursday evening. Shakedown takes place earlier that day at Kuragaike Park.
Friday will feature three stages run twice in the mountains east of Toyota City. The day includes the new Asuke stage and the familiar Isegami’s Tunnel.
