WRC 2026 Rally Japan: full Rally1 entry list
14th May 2026The World Rally Championship will head eastwards for Rally Japan, and here is who will be competing at the Land of the Rising Sun.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Rally Japan marks a return to asphalt for the rally crews after they completed Rally Portugal on its iconic gravel stages. Rally Japan now stands as the third asphalt rally in the last four, following Croatia Rally and Rally Islas Canarias.
A total of 10 competitors will challenge the top echelon of Rally competition at the upcoming Rally Japan, out of 32 competitors.
There will be 12 WRC2 and three WRC3 crews in attendance, with the remaining seven national rally crews completing the 32-car field.
Despite a change to the road surface, there are only slight changes compared to Rally Portugal. Toyota will continue with its five-car lineup, but there will be small changes at Hyundai and M-Sport Ford.
So, who will be competing at Rally Japan in the premier rally class?
Toyota
Toyota will remain unchanged in their driver line-up following the two European events. Elfyn Evans will continue to lead the Japanese team’s entries ahead of Takamoto Katsuta, Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg.
Having secured a win in Rally Islas Canarias and completing Rally de Portugal, the defending world champion, Sebastien Ogier, will continue his part-time programme at Rally Japan.
It means there will be five Toyotas competing in the iconic event, with Katsuta not nominated for manufacturer points.
Hyundai
Hyundai will run a revised trio of cars with regulars Adrien Fourmaux and Theirry Neuville. Dani Sordo, who competed in Rally Islas Canarias and Rally Portugal, will be replaced by Hayden Paddon, who will complete the South Korean’s entry list.
It is the New Zealander’s first event since the Croatian rally at the beginning of April.
M-Sport Ford
M-Sport Ford will return to its two-crew squad after Rally Portugal, with no Martins Sesks joining the entry list. The Irish pairing of Jon Armstrong and Joshua McErlean will complete the Cumbrian team’s lineup for the event.
Read more WRC here:
- Rally Portugal given €15,000 suspended fine after tow truck incident
- Sebastien Ogier regains Rally Portugal lead ahead of Thierry Neuville
- Sebastien Ogier profits from Adrien Fourmaux mistake at Rally Portugal
- Adrien Fourmaux takes over WRC Rally Portugal lead
- Solberg takes early Thursday lead at WRC Rally Portugal
- WRC 2026 Rally de Portugal: The full WRC stage guide and times
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
