WRC 2
Cachón edges Gryazin in fierce WRC2 fight in Japan
Alejandro Cachón holds a slender 8.3sec lead over Nikolay Gryazin after a finely poised opening day in WRC2 at FORUM8 Rally Japan.
The pair traded the category lead throughout Friday’s six asphalt stages, with Cachón ending the day on top after a late push on the final pass of Inabu / Shitara.
Cachón struck first on the brand-new Asuke opener, going against conventional thinking by running his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 on soft tyres. The gamble paid off, with the Spaniard going 8.0sec faster than anybody else in the category and showing the form which carried him to victory in Japan last year.
Nikolay Gryazin in Friday action in Japan
© At World
Gryazin responded immediately on the first pass of Isegami’s Tunnel. The Lancia driver was fastest by 16.5sec from Cachón on the 24.29km test, where changeable grip and damp patches under the trees created major gaps across the field.
Cachón cut the deficit back on Inabu / Shitara before reclaiming the lead on the afternoon’s second run through Asuke. Gryazin then moved ahead once more on Isegami’s Tunnel, although the drier conditions meant he could not repeat his morning advantage and reached the final stage only 1.0sec clear.
That set up a decisive final push from Cachón, who was 22.8sec faster than Gryazin on SS6 to end Friday with an 8.3sec overnight advantage.
The fight for the final podium place also swung late in the day. Yuki Yamamoto moved into third after Diego Domínguez suffered pop-off valve issues on the penultimate stage, with the Paraguayan then adopting a more conservative approach on SS6 to avoid further problems.
Yuki Yamamoto performed strongly on his home event on Friday
© At World
Yamamoto ended Friday 1min 21.0sec behind Cachón and 9.8sec ahead of Domínguez, while former WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm completed the top five after struggling to find a consistent rhythm on Japan’s narrow and technical roads.
Hiroki Arai was sixth overnight, ahead of Norihiko Katsuta and Fumio Nutahara. Katsuta, father of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Takamoto Katsuta, leads the WRC Masters Cup by 35.2sec from Nutahara.
Overnight WRC3 leader Ghjuvanni Rossi
© At World
In WRC3, Ghjuvanni Rossi built a commanding lead of 10min 00.3sec over Georgios Vasilakis. Nicolas Otto had been within 20sec of Rossi before suffering a broken driveshaft on the penultimate stage, dropping him to third and 20min 19.6sec off the category lead.
