Winning adventure for the Alpine A110 Rally in Japan

Already victorious in several European events, the Alpine A110 Rally took on a new challenge to extend its unbeaten run in R-GT on the international scene. Competing for the first time outside Europe, the car designed by the A-arrowed brand discovered Asia, and more specifically the Japanese special stages.

After the recce and shakedown at Kuragaike Park, the pace picked up from Thursday in Aichi Prefecture. The crew of Armand Fumal and Jules Escartefigue headed for the Toyota Stadium to begin the hostilities and were immediately at the front in the two-wheel drive category.

On Friday, the Belgian-French duo got down to business on roads that offered a sample of all the autumn challenges and continued their fine form on Saturday on the Mont Kasagi, Nenoue Kougen and Ena timed sectors. More and more comfortable on this new roads, the #45 A110 Rally continued to dominate its class and moved up the general classification in the last five stages to seal the win by more than nine minutes.

In addition to this 13th world championship success for the A110 Rally, the Chazel Technologie Course team finished 18th overall and just off the podium in the WRC Masters Cup, where only local four-wheel-drive entries bested them. This performance moved Armand Fumal to eighth in the championship, having contested just three tarmac events in a 13-round calendar, most of which were on gravel.

The Alpine A110 Rally was a head-turner throughout the week, with its iconic design and Japanese-inspired livery. Numerous enthusiasts also responded to the brand's call to celebrate this new page in Alpine's motorsport history, both in the service park and on the stages.

Armand Fumal

We did it! We finished this crazy rally, the most difficult on the tarmac and the most spectacular and well-organised in the WRC. We're delighted to win the Alpine A110 Rally's first event outside Europe. It was all the more pleasing because we played La Brabançonne for a second time on the podium after my countryman Thierry Neuville won the WRC title. We want to thank the Chazel Technologie Course team and Alpine Japan for their support throughout the event.

Louis Chazel, Team Manager Chazel Technologie Course

We are delighted to finish this fantastic Japanese adventure on the top step of the two-wheel drive podium with the A110 Rally. It was a very technical rally, with tricky roads, but the Alpine again proved its reliability and adaptability. We met our targets, and I want to thank Armand and Jules for their dedication, Alpine Japan for their unwavering support and the whole team for bringing this project to fruition. See you on the next adventure!

Nathan Matsuzaki, Alpine Cars Territory Manager

All my congratulations to Armand and Jules, the Chazel Technologie Course Alpine A110 Rally crew, for their exemplary performance throughout the rally. This superb victory in the two-wheel-drive category puts the Alpine brand in the spotlight in our country and is already a source of immense pride for all our customers who share the passion of driving an A110!