FUMIO NUTAHARA / DANIEL BARRITT
RALLY NEW ZEALAND
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GABRIEL POZZO / MARIO STILLO
RALLY NEW ZEALAND
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JUHO HANNINEN / MIKKO MARKKULA
RALLY NEW ZEALAND
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An incredible 35 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions will take the start of next week’s Rally Japan in Obihiro, Hokkaido, with local ace Fumio Nutahara (Japan) aiming to back up the astonishing Production Car World Rally Championship win he took on this event last year. In addition to Nutahara, Mark Higgins (United Kingdom) will be looking to maintain his run towards this year’s overall Production Car title, following his fine win in Mexico earlier this season.
Nutahara arrives at the start of his home round of the Production Car World Rally Championship on the back of another victory on the penultimate round of the All-Japan Rally Championship, the Hi-Land Masters rally, which ran earlier this month. Nutahara will seek to continue that form onto the fast and technical gravel roads north of Obihiro next week, as he seeks to emulate the Group N success and eighth overall he managed last year.
Nutahara, who is co-driven by Daniel Barritt (United Kingdom), said: "The last edition of the rally was very exciting for me, a very good result. This year, though, it could be more tough. The weather could be different to the sunshine we have enjoyed on this rally before. I will drive hard to try to repeat last year in my Mitsubishi."
Nutahara and his compatriot Gabriel Pozzo (Argentina) – who finished second to Nutahara in Japan in 2006 – is the only other Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver in the Production Car field who has experience of this event. Pozzo, however, certainly has the pace to challenge the frontrunners for victory next week.
If anybody can overcome their lack of local knowledge it’s Higgins. He’s one of the most professional drivers in the world – having previously driven for factory teams in the World Rally Championship. Higgins is determined to uphold Mitsubishi honor in his bid to win a maiden world title aboard his Lancer Evolution. He said: "I can’t wait to get to Japan. From what I’ve seen of the rally, it looks fantastic – and the people all seem so friendly. I’m really looking forward to the event. The stages don’t look too dissimilar to what we have in Britain, maybe a bit more narrow, but it’s not completely different. The one thing which I’ve been told could be the same is the weather – with the chance of some rain coming. Seeing as I live in Wales, that will make me feel right at home!"
Juho Hanninen (Finland), Armindo Araujo (Portugal) and Martin Rauam (Estonia) are the others drivers who will be aiming to leave Obihiro with 10 points in their bag on Sunday night. Among the other potential winners for Mitsubishi is another hero for Japanese fans to give a big cheer to: Katsuhiko Taguchi (Japan). Taguchi is not registered for this year’s Production Car series, but his Lancer Evolution is sure to be among the fastest on the stages.
In addition to the competition, there’s enormous excitement, both locally and in the World Rally Championship community, about the unveiling of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. This is one of the most exciting new rally cars to arrive on the scene for many years. Drivers, fans and journalists alike will be clamoring for their chance to have a look at the new car. Two Lancer Evolution Xs will be used by the organizing team – running ahead of the main field to check every aspect of the stage and route before the first competing cars.
The route for this year’s event has been tweaked slightly, but it is without any radical changes. In fact, those drivers who have tackled all three previous Rally Japans will have driven down the roads included on this year’s schedule – although Kimun Kamuy and parts of Cup Kamuy haven’t been used since 2004. Once again, the hugely popular spectator stage in Obihiro will be run at the end of each of the three legs (a total of five stages), much to the delight of the thousands of rally fans expected to turn up to watch their heroes battle for Production Car and overall victory.
The rally starts on Thursday October 25, with a ceremonial start in the centre of Obihiro at 19h30. The following morning (Friday October 26), the drivers will begin the first of 27 timed special stages which lie ahead. The route covers 1,575.79 km, of which 350.19km are competitive: leg-1 on Friday 106.18km, leg-2 of 146.68km and leg-3 of 97.33km competitive section on Sunday. Each day, the crews will return to the central service park at Kita Aikoku. The event finishes back in Obihro on Sunday October 28 at 15h00.
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1
M |
Sébastien Loeb
Daniel Elena |
F
MC |
Citroen C4 WRC |
A
8 |
2
M |
Daniel Sordo
Marc Marti |
E
E |
Citroen C4 WRC |
A
8 |
3
M |
Marcus Gronholm
Timo Rautiainen |
FIN
FIN |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 |
A
8 |
4
M |
Mikko Hirvonen
Jarmo Lehtinen |
FIN
FIN |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 |
A
8 |
5
MT |
Manfred Stohl
Ilka Minor |
A
A |
Citroen Xsara WRC |
A
8 |
7
M |
Petter Solberg
Philip Mills |
N
GB |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 |
A
8 |
8
M |
Chris Atkinson
Stephane Prevot |
AUS
B |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 |
A
8 |
9
MT |
Jari-Matti Latvala
Miikka Anttila |
FIN
FIN |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
8 |
10
MT |
Henning Solberg
Cato Menkerud |
N
N |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
8 |
11
MT |
Luis Perez Companc
Jose Maria Volta |
RA
RA |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
8 |
12
MT |
Federico Villagra
Jorge Perez Companc |
RA
RA |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
8 |
16
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Matthew Wilson
Michael Orr |
GB
GB |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
8 |
17
|
Xavier Pons
Xavier Amigo |
E
E |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 |
A
8 |
31
P |
Toshihiro Arai
Tony Sircombe |
J
NZ |
Subaru Impreza |
N
4 |
34
P |
Mark Higgins
Scott Martin |
GB
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
35
P |
Fumio Nutahara
Daniel Barritt |
J
GB |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
36
P |
Juho Hanninen
Mikko Markkula |
FIN
FIN |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
37
P |
Spyros Pavlides
Denis Giraudet |
CYP
F |
Subaru Impreza |
N
4 |
38
P |
Yoshio Ikemachi
Sadatoshi Ando |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
40
|
Stefano Marrini
Tiziana Sandroni |
I
I |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
41
P |
Leszek Kuzaj
Jarek Baran |
POL
POL |
Subaru Impreza |
N
4 |
43
P |
Claudio Stefan David
Mihaela Eva Beldie |
RO
RO |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
46
P |
Armindo Araujo
Miguel Ramalho |
P
P |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
48
P |
Amjad Farrah
Nicola Arena |
HKJ
I |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
50
P |
Patrik Flodin
Maria Andersson |
S
S |
Subaru Impreza |
N
4 |
51
P |
Martin Rauam
Kristo Kraag |
EE
EE |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
52
P |
Takuma Kamada
Naoki Kase |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
53
P |
Evgeniy Vertunov
Georgy Troshkin |
RUS
RUS |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
54
P |
Gabriel Pozzo
Daniel Stillo |
RA
RA |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
61
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Taguchi Katsuhiko
Mark Stacey |
J
AUS |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
62
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Norihiko Katsuta
Minoru Kitada |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
63
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Emma Gilmour
Glenn Macneall |
NZ
AUS |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
64
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Richard Mason
Sara Randall |
NZ
NZ |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
65
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Gianluca Linari
Roberto Mometti |
I
I |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
66
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Masayuki Ishida
Keiji Seita |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
67
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Michael Kahlfuss
Ronald Bauer |
D
D |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
68
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Yukihiro Taguchi
Tadayoshi Sato |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
69
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Kazuhiro Kitamura
Noriko Takeshita |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WEX |
N
4 |
70
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Osamu Fukunaga
Hisatugu Okumura |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
71
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Yozo Watanabe
Shigeru Ikeda |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
72
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Yuya Sumiyama
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J
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Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
73
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Eiichi Iwashita
Akihiko Takahashi |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
74
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Atsushi Masumura
Koji Watanabe |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
75
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Masahiro Nakajima
Noaki Kurosaki |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
76
|
Hiroshi Hoshino
Shigeki Sato |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
77
|
Haruo Oshima
Tatsuya Ideue |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
78
|
Takayuki Akiba
Taku Iseya |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
79
|
Urmo Aava
Kuldar Sikk |
EE
EE |
Suzuki Swift |
A
6 |
80
|
Mitsugu Nakamura
Yoshitaka Fujishima |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
81
|
Yoshikazu Mitani
Masakazu Arai |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N
4 |
82
|
Takahiro Yoshii
Masahiko Nabekura |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N
4 |
83
|
Satoru Ito
Frank Brookhouse |
J
AUS |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
84
|
Hisatoshi Yoshitani
Kenji Yamakita |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
85
|
Kimihide Terao
Kasanori Tsuda |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
86
|
Hiroaki Tomizawa
Kazuyuki Funatsu |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
87
|
Satoshi Imai
Chizuko Kamisaku |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N
4 |
88
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Akira Bamba
Satoshi Hayashi |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
89
|
Hideaki Namba
Masahiko Kihara |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
90
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Takashi Nishi
Tsuyoshi Kajiyama |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
91
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Tamotsu Minamino
Paul Santo |
J
NZ |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
92
|
Mitsuhiro Aoki
Fumika Aoki |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
93
|
Yu Matsui
Akihiro Tamaki |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
94
|
Masaki Yamada
Tatsuro Yoshimochi |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
N
4 |
95
|
Fuyuhiko Takahashi
Mitsuo Nakamura |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
96
|
Takuro Yoshioka
Kouhei Kusaka |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
97
|
Tetsuya Ikeda
Junishi Mima |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
98
|
Tatsuru Saito
Akira Endo |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
4 |
99
|
Kiyoyuki Onodera
Masahiko Kuroda |
J
J |
Daihatsu Sirion / Boon |
A
5 |
100
|
Tadahiro Hiratsuka
Hiroshi Suzuki |
J
J |
Daihatsu Sirion / Boon |
A
5 |
101
|
Masami Sugiyama
Miki Itoh |
J
J |
Toyota Run X RSi |
A
7 |
102
|
Kozue Ol
Yumiko Toyama |
J
J |
Ford Fiesta ST |
N
3 |
103
|
Yasushi Hara
Satoko Hara |
J
J |
Daihatsu Sirion / Boon |
N
1 |
104
|
Masamichi Fukumoto
Hideki Umeno |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
N
4 |
105
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Takashi Irinatsu
Hiroshi Haenuki |
J
J |
Honda Civic 3 Door SiR |
A
6 |
106
|
Masato Nakanishi
Megumi Fujita |
J
J |
Honda Integra Type-R |
N
3 |
107
|
Masuhiro Ito
Jun Chigami |
J
J |
Daihatsu Sirion / Boon |
N
1 |
108
|
Yasunori Hagiwara
Mako Takahashi |
J
J |
Subaru Impreza WRX |
N
4 |
109
|
Yukihiro Tokita
Pongkasem Jitkasem |
J
T |
Honda Integra Type-R |
A
7 |
110
|
Hiroshi Sudoh
Norimasa Yamagishi |
J
J |
Honda Civic Type R |
A
7 |
111
|
Hiroshi Kato
Mikio Otani |
J
J |
Honda Civic 3 Door SiR |
N
2 |
112
|
Tomoyuki Amano
Yukiko Inoue |
J
J |
Toyota Yaris 3 Door |
A
5 |
113
|
Masatoshi Ogura
Mari Hirayama |
J
J |
Daihatsu Sirion / Boon |
N
1 |
114
|
Risa Hirayama
Kentaro |
J
J |
Honda Civic 3 Door SiR |
A
6 |
115
|
Yoko Fukuzawa
Teruaki Yasue |
J
J |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
4 |
116
|
Kenji Ohkura
Yukari Otaki |
J
J |
Suzuki Ignis Sport |
N
2 |
