(Reuters) – Belgian Thierry Neuville won the season-ending Rally of Japan in a Hyundai one-two with departing team mate Ott Tanak on Sunday in the home of champions Toyota.
Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta finished third for Toyota in the asphalt event.
“It wasn’t an easy weekend or an easy year, but to end with a victory after showing good speed all weekend is a great way to end the season,” said Neuville after his second victory of the campaign.
He finished one minute 11.1 seconds clear of Tanak.
Toyota had already won both titles, with Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera becoming the youngest world champion at 22-years-old in New Zealand last month.
The victory was a 25th for Hyundai since their entry in 2014 and their fifth of the season.
“This win will give us the necessary positive momentum to come back even stronger in 2023. The team has now all the tools in hand to fight for championships, our sole and only target,” said deputy team director Julien Moncet.
Hyundai ended up second overall with 455 points to Toyota’s tally of 525.
Tanak, who is leaving the team a year early but has yet to confirm his future plans, was runner-up in the drivers’ championship.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)
