FILE PHOTO: WRC Rally driver Thierry Neuville of Belgium is seen at Brussels Motor Show, Belgium, January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
(Reuters) -Hyundai's Thierry Neuville shrugged off the heavy tag of rallying's nearly man to win his first world championship on Sunday while Toyota sealed the manufacturers' crown on a dramatic final day of the season in Japan.
The 36-year-old Belgian, five times an overall runner-up and three times third, scored the points he needed with sixth place after team mate and main rival Ott Tanak crashed out while leading.
Toyota's Elfyn Evans won the asphalt rally, ahead of eight-times world champion teammate Sebastien Ogier, as the Japanese manufacturer won the final Power Stage to finish three points clear of Hyundai.
"I am feeling great to be honest, we worked so long for this," said Neuville as he celebrated with co-driver Martin Wydaghe.
"I want to thank everybody who was part of it, who fought for us and all of the team as well. We were many times very close; we always give it our all, but this year we have been rewarded for it."
The Belgians had led the championship since the opening Monte Carlo round but faced a potential nightmare after a turbo pressure problem dropped them to 15th on Friday with Tanak heading for maximum points.
The drivers' title is a first for Belgium and also for Hyundai after a decade in the sport.
Hyundai had led the manufacturers' championship to Japan but Tanak's exit on Sunday's slippery first stage of the final day dealt a bitter blow, with Toyota winning by the slimmest margin since Lancia did it by two points in 1983.
The two manufacturers had been level going into the power stage before Toyota prevailed.
Evans inherited the victory, becoming the sixth different winner of the season and moving ahead of Tanak into the overall runner-up position.
Ogier finished one minute and 27.3 seconds behind the Welshman, with M-Sport Ford's Adrien Fourmaux third and Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta fourth in his home event.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Peter Rutherford)
