The 10-year wait for WRC to return to Japan in 2020 was ultimately delayed as the event became a casualty of the pandemic, and the sense of anticipation is even higher now amongst the passionate local fans cheering on Toyota.
This weekend the Gravel Notes podcast is in Japan with Autosport's Tom Howard as the previous gravel roads of Japan make way for 19 new twisty tarmac stages which will prove one of the toughest challenges of the year.
On a new edition of the podcast, Tom previews the weekend action following Thursday's shakedown and first stage, which saw Sebastien Ogier narrowly beat M-Sport’s Craig Breen by just 0.1 seconds, with Hyundai's Ott Tanak another tenth of a second behind.
Tom also talks about WRC's silly season, with Esapekka Lappi expected to join Hyundai to replace Tanak, as the Estonian faces a year on the sidelines without a drive in 2023.
There is also still plenty to fight for in WRC2, with a three-way fight for the drivers' title.
You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or via all good audio platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
