His hopes of a top result were dashed on Friday when he clipped a guardrail and lost more than five minutes. The Toyota driver started Saturday’s stages from 17th overall.
Rovanperä set himself the goal of climbing into the top ten to secure at least some points from the Japanese asphalt event. He badly needs them to keep even a theoretical chance of fighting for the title at the season finale in Saudi Arabia.
That target was already achieved by the end of Saturday’s morning loop, when Rovanperä climbed to tenth overall – a position worth one championship point. If he continues at the same pace, his position should improve by another couple of places during the afternoon.
“We’re just trying to keep up a steady rhythm to catch the cars in front – especially the Rally2 cars – to get into the top ten and grab a few points. The plan stays the same for the afternoon,” Rovanperä said at the tyre fitting zone, when his exact position was not yet known.
Rovanperä drove through the first three stages of the day cleanly, without taking major risks.
“I’m not so satisfied, but it’s going okay. No real need to do any crazy push. But obviously we are not super fast either,” he admitted.
The same three stages will be run again in the afternoon, followed by a short spectator stage in Toyota City.
“The roads are a bit dirtier probably, but now as the first car it should be okay. Our notes should be quite precise and hopefully we can have a bit of fun,” Rovanperä said, referring to the updates he receives from his gravel crew before the repeat runs.
Sunday will be crucial for Rovanperä, as up to ten extra points are available on the final day. He must go on the attack to keep Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans within reach in the championship fight.
Forecasts predict rain for Sunday, which could make the conditions extremely slippery. For Rovanperä, that might open the door to a strong push, as he has often excelled in challenging weather.
“If it’s wet tomorrow, this rally becomes completely different. The grip level will be really low, so we’ll see what happens then,” Rovanperä noted.
Sébastien Ogier leads Rally Japan after ten stages, with Elfyn Evans just two seconds behind and Takamoto Katsuta a further 5.2 seconds adrift in third.
