# 2008 Rally Japan

The 2008 Rally Japan was the fourteenth and penultimate round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event saw Sébastien Loeb clinch his fifth consecutive world drivers title with his drive to a third-place finish. The event was won by Mikko Hirvonen in a Ford Focus, who led the event from start to finish to claim his third win of the season. Second place went to Hirvonen's teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, his fifth podium of the year and his first since the Rally of Turkey back in June.
Stobart M-Sport Ford's François Duval crashed out from second place during the sixth stage. Duval was not injured in the crash, but his co-driver Patrick Pivato sustained a fractured pelvis and tibia. He was rushed to the hospital, and internal bleeding was discovered during surgery. On day two of the rally, after a second operation, his condition was described as critical but stable.
On the 19th stage, Toni Gardemeister took the Suzuki World Rally Team's first-ever stage win. Suzuki also had their most successful rally to date with Gardemeister finishing sixth and teammate Per-Gunnar Andersson recording his best ever finish of fifth position.
The event was originally planned to run on October 24−26, but as to make full use of venues, including the Sapporo Dome, with its tenant the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters possibly needing it for the Japan Series, the event was approved by FIA to be delayed for a week. The dome was not needed for baseball, as the Ham Fighters didn't make it to the Japan Series.
The Sapporo Dome Super Special Stage was the second to be held in indoor venues in WRC history.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| WRC |||||||
| 1. | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 3:25:03.0 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Focus RS WRC 08 | 3:25:34.1 | 31.1 | 8 |
| 3. | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:27:33.6 | 2:30.6 | 6 |
| 4. | Chris Atkinson | Stéphane Prévot | Subaru Impreza WRC2008 | 3:28:45.4 | 3:42.4 | 5 |
| 5. | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Jonas Andersson | Suzuki SX4 WRC | 3:30:15.9 | 5:12.9 | 4 |
| 6. | Toni Gardemeister | Tomi Tuominen | Suzuki SX4 WRC | 3:31:12.4 | 6:09.4 | 3 |
| 7. | Matthew Wilson | Scott Martin | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 3:32:08.3 | 7:05.3 | 2 |
| 8. | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC2008 | 3:38:22.9 | 13:19.9 | 1 |
| PCWRC |||||||
| 1. | Juho Hänninen | Mikko Markkula | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 3:43:30.4 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. | Evgeny Novikov | Dale Moscatt | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 3:43:36.7 | 6.3 | 8 |
| 3. | Toshihiro Arai | Glenn MacNeall | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | 3:43:39.6 | 9.2 | 6 |

## Special stages

All dates and times are JST (UTC+9).
| Day | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS1 | 09:11 | Heper 1 | 13.24 km | M. Hirvonen | 9:57.9 | 79.7 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS2 | 09:39 | Yuparo 1 | 11.10 km | M. Hirvonen | 8:24.2 | 79.3 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS3 | 10:42 | Isepo 1 | 13.67 km | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS4 | 11:28 | Pipaoi 1 | 5.74 km | S. Loeb | 3:17.3 | 104.7 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS5 | 14:28 | Heper 2 | 13.24 km | M. Hirvonen | 9:35.6 | 82.8 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS6 | 14:56 | Yuparo 2 | 11.10 km | M. Hirvonen | 8:02.5 | 82.8 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS7 | 15:59 | Isepo 2 | 13.67 km | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS8 | 16:45 | Pipaoi 2 | 5.74 km | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS9 | 18:14 | Sapporo 1 | 1.49 km | M. Hirvonen | 1:39.4 | 54.0 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 1 (31 OCT) | SS10 | 18:24 | Sapporo 2 | 1.49 km | M. Hirvonen | 1:41.6 | 52.8 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS11 | 08:28 | Imeru 1 | 2.30 km | D. Sordo | 1:42.5 | 80.8 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS12 | 09:21 | Nikara 1 | 31.12 km | P. Solberg | 18:37.0 | 100.3 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS13 | 10:37 | Kamuycep 1 | 33.66 km | J. Latvala | 21:58.1 | 91.9 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS14 | 11:32 | Kina 1 | 9.55 km | H. Solberg | 5:54.6 | 97.0 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS15 | 13:50 | Imeru 2 | 2.30 km | S. Loeb | 1:42.5 | 80.8 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS16 | 14:43 | Nikara 2 | 31.12 km | J. Latvala | 18:22.8 | 101.6 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS17 | 15:59 | Kamuycep 2 | 33.66 km | M. Hirvonen | 21:22.7 | 94.5 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS18 | 16:54 | Kina 2 | 9.55 km | M. Hirvonen | 5:54.3 | 97.0 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS19 | 18:09 | Sapporo 3 | 1.49 km | T. Gardemeister D. Sordo | 1:25.4 | 62.8 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 2 (1 NOV) | SS20 | 18:09 | Sapporo 4 | 1.49 km | D. Sordo | 1:23.2 | 64.5 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS21 | 07:07 | Koyka 1 | 3.57 km | P. Solberg | 2:00.2 | 106.9 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS22 | 07:56 | Iwanke 1 | 13.57 km | M. Hirvonen | 8:13.0 | 99.1 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS23 | 08:21 | Sikot 1 | 27.76 km | J. Latvala | 17:49.5 | 93.4 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS24 | 08:53 | Imeru 3 | 2.30 km | J. Latvala | 1:57.3 | 70.6 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS25 | 10:06 | Sapporo 5 | 1.49 km | A. Kim | 1:45.7 | 50.7 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS26 | 11:58 | Koyka 2 | 3.57 km | M. Hirvonen | 2:08.6 | 99.9 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS27 | 12:47 | Iwanke 2 | 13.57 km | M. Hirvonen | 8:39.9 | 94.0 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS28 | 13:12 | Sikot 2 | 27.76 km | P. Solberg | 18:00.2 | 92.5 km/h | M. Hirvonen |
| 3 (2 NOV) | SS29 | 13:44 | Imeru 4 | 2.30 km | P. Solberg | 2:03.8 | 66.9 km/h | M. Hirvonen |

## Championship standings after the event
### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | | 112 |
| 2 | Mikko Hirvonen | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | | 102 |
| 3 | Dani Sordo | 11 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ret | DSQ | | 59 |
| 4 | Jari-Matti Latvala | 12 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 39 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 4 | 2 | | 50 |
| 5 | Chris Atkinson | 3 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | Ret | 13 | 3 | 6 | Ret | 7 | 6 | 4 | | 50 |
| 6 | Petter Solberg | 5 | 4 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | | 41 |
| 7 | François Duval | 4 | | | | | | | | | 3 | Ret | 4 | 3 | Ret | | 22 |
| 8 | Henning Solberg | 9 | 13 | 5 | Ret | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 15 | Ret | | 22 |
| 9 | Gigi Galli | 6 | 3 | Ret | 7 | 8 | 4 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Inj | Inj | Inj | Inj | | 17 |
| 10 | Matthew Wilson | 10 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 5 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 7 | | 15 |
| 11 | Urmo Aava | | 18 | | | Ret | 8 | 4 | Ret | 16 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 7 | | | 13 |
| 12 | Federico Villagra | | | 7 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 9 | Ret | | 8 | 12 | | 9 | | 9 |
| 13 | Toni Gardemeister | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | 8 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 6 | | 8 |
| 14 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | 8 | Ret | Ret | 24 | Ret | 9 | 11 | Ret | Ret | 15 | 6 | 32 | 17 | 5 | | 8 |
| 15 | Conrad Rautenbach | Ret | 16 | 16 | 4 | 26 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | | 6 |
| 16 | Andreas Mikkelsen | | 5 | | | | Ret | | 19 | 12 | 11 | | 8 | 11 | | | 5 |
| 17 | Jean-Marie Cuoq | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 17 | Matti Rantanen | | | | | | | | | 7 | | | | | | | 2 |
| 19 | Juho Hänninen | | 8 | | | | | 21 | | 13 | | 14 | 29 | 24 | 10 | | 1 |
| 19 | Sébastien Ogier | | | 8 | | 11 | 22 | | | 36 | 19 | | Ret | 20 | | | 1 |
| 19 | Andreas Aigner | | 31 | | 8 | | | 14 | 11 | Ret | | Ret | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Pts |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Rank | Team | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| Rank | Team | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRC | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | Citroën Total World Rally Team | 11 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 6 | - | 175 |
| 2 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 8 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 18 | - | 164 |
| 3 | Subaru World Rally Team | 10 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | - | 93 |
| 4 | Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 2 | - | 64 |
| 5 | Suzuki World Rally Team | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 7 | - | 28 |
| 6 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 22 |