The Rally Hokkaido (ラリー北海道), is an international
rally racing event held on the island of
Hokkaidō in
Japan.
The rally was first held in 2002 as Japan's entry into the
Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) is an international rally championship organized by the FIA encompassing rounds in Asia and Oceania. Group N cars dominated the championship for many years but in recent years cars built to R5 and S ...
and Japan's return to international rallying.
In 2004 the rally was promoted to World Championship status as the inaugural
Rally Japan
Rally Japan (ラリージャパン) is a rally competition held in Hokkaidō, Japan. The event made its debut in the FIA World Rally Championship during the 2004 season. From 2004 to 2007, the event was held on the twisty and narrow gravel roads ...
. The following year the World and Asia-Pacific rallies were split into separate rallies with both still being held in Hokkaido with Rally Japan as the WRC round, Rally Hokkaido as the APRC round. It has been throughout a
Japan Rally Championship event as well.
The event has been dominated by
Subaru Impreza
The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Leone, with the predecessor's EA series engines replaced by the new EJ series. It is now in its sixth gene ...
s with only one win taken by any other manufacturer. Local driver
Toshihiro Arai has won his home event six times.
List of winners
Sourced in part from:
[http://www.ewrc-results.com/events.php?id=586&t=Rally-Hokkaido]
References
{{reflist
External links
Official websiteAsia Pacific Championship
Rally competitions in Japan
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The lar ...