This week, an Alpine A110 Rally will debut on the FORUM8 Rally in Japan, the final round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season.Entered by the Chazel Technologie Course team and entrusted to the Belgian-French crew of Armand Fumal and Jules Escartefigue, the car will sport a spectacular livery inspired by Japanese culture.A series of activations by the A-arrow brand will accompany the A110 Rally’s first competitive appearance in Japan.
Launched in 2020, the Alpine A110 Rally has quickly met expectations by winning from the outset. The car has surpassed all its targets, with two FIA R-GT Cups, three FFSA French Two-Wheel Drive Rally Championships and a Spanish Tarmac Rally Cup. Often competing with the best four-wheel drive models, the A110 Rally and the A110 Rallye GT+ introduced this year have already scored 46 outright victories and 162 podium finishes.
The new Berlinette will write a new chapter in its rallying history this week. Unbeaten in the R-GT class in its 12 appearances in the FIA WRC, the A110 Rally will take on the Japanese special stages in a historic undertaking as it will be making its first World Rally Championship excursion outside Europe.
Entered by the Chazel Technologie Course team, Belgian Armand Fumal and his French co-driver Jules Escartefigue will be sharing the cockpit of the #45 Alpine A110 Rally. The pair know their car well, having won in its class on the Central European Rally in 2023 and 2024. They also finished third in the R-GT class on the 2024 Rallye Monte-Carlo and will look to put in a strong performance in the two-wheel drive category while also seeking to outshine the six four-wheel drive Rally2s they will face in the WRC Masters Cup in Aichi Prefecture.
In a land where the brand maintains unique links with its community, the participants in this grand premiere will be keen to make the Alpine heritage resonate by combining audacity, aesthetics, technical mastery and precision. The A110 Rally will feature a unique livery inspired by Japanese culture, with a stylised dragon adorning the bodywork to commemorate the occasion.
Alpine will be on site throughout the event. After a press day last Sunday, during which journalists were able to discover the model alongside Armand Fumal, an A110 will be on display in the service park at the Toyota Stadium, among other activations.
The FIA World Rally Championship season finale, Rally FORUM8 Japan begins this Thursday with the shakedown, the start ceremony and the opening special stage. Twenty other timed sectors will complete the 302.59-kilometre competitive route until the finish at noon on Sunday in Toyota’s municipality.
Armand Fumal
“After Monte Carlo and Central Europe, Japan completes the tarmac journey of the WRC calendar. The Alpine A110 Rally is unique. It catches the eye everywhere and stands out from its competitors. There is a genuine buzz around the car in the service parks and on the stages. We expect that to be the case again this week, where there will be a crowd of real enthusiasts. We were keen to honour Japanese culture, so we’ve chosen to boast a livery and racing suits reflecting it. I want to thank all our partners who made this project possible and the job Louis Chazel has done over the last year with WRC Promoter and Alpine Japan. From a racing point of view, we’ll do our best to shine in the two-wheel drive category!”
Louis Chazel, Team Manager Chazel Technologie Course
“It’s an honour for us to take the Alpine A110 Rally to Japan for the first time. We’re all aware of the public’s enthusiasm for the brand so this participation will be a highlight for us all. Armand, Jules, and I know this adventure poses challenges, particularly with the often changeable and tricky weather conditions. Still, we look forward to this unique experience and to show what the A110 can do on these roads.”
Nathan Matsuzaki, Alpine Cars Territory Manager
“We want to warmly thank Chazel Technologie Course for its involvement with Armand Fumal and Jules Escartefigue, as their presence at the event will provide a unique and authentic Alpine experience to Japanese customers and journalists. The Berlinette’s rally exploits in the 1970s resonate strongly in Japan too, so to see its modern reincarnation racing on Japanese roads will be a great moment for all of the brand’s Japanese fans.”