2010 Rally Japan
Round10
Championship2010 World Rally Championship season
Previous round2010 Rallye Deutschland
Next round2010 Rallye de France
RallybaseSapporo, Hokkaidō
Startdate9
Enddate12 September 2010
Stages26[1]
Stagekm301.12
Overallkm1205.07
SurfaceGravel
Driver 1Sébastien Ogier
Team 1Citroën World Rally Team
Teamsstart70
Teamsfinish54

The 2010 Rally Japan, was the 10th round of the 2010 World Rally Championship (WRC) season. The 26 stage gravel rally took place on 9 – 12 September 2010 and was based in the city of Sapporo. The rally featured eight super specials at the Sapporo Dome with the rally finishing at the Dome on the Sunday afternoon.[1]

Sébastien Ogier took the second WRC victory of his career, capitalising on a broken damper for Petter Solberg which dropped him out of the lead on the final morning of the rally.[2] Ogier also cut into teammate Sébastien Loeb's championship lead, reducing it to 43 points before their home event in France.

Introduction

Prior to the rally, depending on results, Sébastien Loeb could have clinched his seventh consecutive world title with three events to spare.[3] With a 58-point lead over teammate Sébastien Ogier pre-rally, Loeb had to outscore Ogier by 18 points in order to secure the championship, as well as beating Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala by 2 points, as the Finnish driver was 74 points behind Loeb. Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo were still in mathematical contention but would have to finish in the top two placings in Japan, with Loeb failing to score, to stay in contention.

Results

Event standings

Pos.DriverCo-driverCarTimeDifferencePoints
Overall
1.Sébastien OgierJulien IngrassiaCitroën C4 WRC3:10:26.40.025
2.Petter SolbergChris PattersonCitroën C4 WRC3:10:42.115.718
3.Jari-Matti LatvalaMiikka AnttilaFord Focus RS WRC 093:10:52.426.015
4.Dani SordoDiego VallejoCitroën C4 WRC3:11:01.635.212
5.Sébastien LoebDaniel ElenaCitroën C4 WRC3:11:19.753.310
6.Mikko HirvonenJarmo LehtinenFord Focus RS WRC 093:11:39.91:13.58
7.Henning SolbergIlka MinorFord Focus RS WRC 083:13:29.53:03.16
8.Federico VillagraJorge Pérez CompancFord Focus RS WRC 083:20:44.310:17.94
9.Jari KetomaaMika StenbergFord Fiesta S20003:25:13.514:47.12
10.Martin ProkopJan TománekFord Fiesta S20003:25:47.215:20.81
SWRC
1. (9.)Jari KetomaaMika StenbergFord Fiesta S20003:25:13.50.025
2. (10.)Martin ProkopJan TománekFord Fiesta S20003:25:47.233.718
PWRC
1. (11.)Patrik FlodinGöran BergstenSubaru Impreza WRX STI3:31:08.30.025
2. (12.)Hayden PaddonJohn KennardMitsubishi Lancer Evo X3:33:54.12:45.818
3. (16.)Gianluca LinariPaolo GregorianiSubaru Impreza WRX STI3:46:15.115:06.815
4. (17.)Kyosuke KamataTakumi TakahashiMitsubishi Lancer Evo IX3:48:18.617:10.312
5. (20.)Wang RuiPan HongyuSubaru Impreza WRX STI3:53:07.821:59.510
6. (46.)Reijo MuhonenLasse MiettinenMitsubishi Lancer Evo X4:39:53.31:08:45.08

Special stages

All dates and times are JST (UTC+9).

DayStageTimeNameLengthWinnerTimeAvg. spd.Rally leader
Leg 1
(9–10 Sept)		SS118:40SSS Sapporo 11.57 kmSébastien Ogier1:21.869.10 km/hSébastien Ogier
SS218:52SSS Sapporo 21.57 kmSébastien Ogier1:21.469.43 km/h
SS310:23Iwanke 126.92 kmPetter Solberg16:21.298.77 km/h
SS411:27Sikot 127.76 kmPetter Solberg15:49.9105.21 km/hPetter Solberg
SS512:15Koyka 13.55 kmHenning Solberg1:55.1111.03 km/h
SS615:03Iwanke 226.92 kmJari-Matti Latvala16:08.0100.12 km/h
SS716:07Sikot 227.76 kmMikko Hirvonen15:35.0106.88 km/h
SS816:55Koyka 23.55 kmMikko Hirvonen1:55.9110.27 km/h
SS918:34SSS Sapporo 31.57 kmSébastien Loeb1:24.566.89 km/h
SS1018:46SSS Sapporo 41.57 kmPetter Solberg1:24.067.29 km/h
Leg 2
(11 Sept)		SS1110:28Nikara 117.68 kmPetter Solberg9:38.8109.97 km/h
SS1211:26Kamuycep 133.76 kmJari-Matti Latvala21:02.396.28 km/h
SS1312:22Kina 19.55 kmDani Sordo5:34.5102.78 km/hJari-Matti Latvala
SS1415:09Nikara 217.68 kmPetter Solberg9:30.0111.66 km/h
SS1516:07Kamuycep 233.76 kmDani Sordo20:31.598.69 km/h
SS1617:03Kina 29.55 kmPetter Solberg5:32.6103.37 km/hPetter Solberg
SS1718:33SSS Sapporo 51.57 kmPetter Solberg1:24.866.65 km/h
SS1818:45SSS Sapporo 61.57 kmMikko Hirvonen1:24.167.21 km/h
Leg 3
(12 Sept)		SS197:31Bisan 14.71 kmSébastien Loeb2:27.7114.80 km/h
SS208:13Naekawa 117.86 kmSébastien Ogier14:21.674.62 km/hSébastien Ogier
SS219:37Sunagawa 13.70 kmSébastien Loeb2:39.783.41 km/h
SS2210:12Bisan 24.71 kmSébastien Ogier2:26.4115.82 km/h
SS2310:54Naekawa 217.86 kmJari-Matti Latvala14:05.676.04 km/h
SS2411:58Sunagawa 23.70 kmSébastien Loeb2:36.385.22 km/h
SS2514:00SSS Sapporo 71.57 kmSébastien Ogier1:24.067.29 km/h
SS2614:12SSS Sapporo 81.57 kmJari-Matti Latvala1:23.867.45 km/h

Standings after the rally

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos.DriverPoints
1Sébastien Loeb201
2Sebastien Ogier158
3Jari-Matti Latvala132
4Petter Solberg118
5Dani Sordo107
6Mikko Hirvonen94
7Matthew Wilson56
8Henning Solberg31
9Federico Villagra30
10Kimi Räikkönen21
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos.ManufacturerPoints
1Citroen WRT345
2BP Ford WRT250
3Citroen Junior Team183
4Stobart Ford130
5Munchi's Ford46

References

  1. ^ "Itinerary" (PDF). World Rally Championship. International Sportsworld Communicators; Rally Japan. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Ace Ogier lands victory number two in Japan". World Rally Championship. International Sportsworld Communicators. 12 September 2010. Archived 13 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Sebastien Ogier takes early lead at Rally Japan". USA Today. Sapporo: David Hunke; Gannett Company. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.