Ogier claimed victory in the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship season, setting the fastest time on Super Sunday and also winning the final Power Stage. He took the overall win by 11.6 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans. For Ogier, it was already his sixth win of the season, even though he has skipped three rounds.
Evans was second on Super Sunday and missed out on the Power Stage win by just one-tenth of a second. As a result, Ogier is now only three points behind Evans before the season finale.
“This is how I like to do it. It was a perfect result, even though the weekend was tough. The rally basically restarted today in the rain. The car has felt really good from the start. Now the next rally is ahead. Onwards to that,” Ogier enthused.
“I was about to say it’s been fun, but that would’ve been a small lie. Still, it was great to fight against Seb. The conditions today were really tricky. Seb managed them well, but we tried. We can be fairly satisfied, but we’re here to win,” Evans explained.
Toyota’s Finnish driver Sami Pajari achieved the first podium of his career by finishing third. The result was secured on Sunday morning local time when Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux damaged his car and was forced to retire.
““This feels pretty amazing. We’ve been close a couple of times. It’s special to get my first podium here in Japan. A huge thanks to the whole team,” said Pajari.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak finished fourth after a subdued rally. The Estonian lost more than three minutes to the leaders. M-Sport Ford’s Grégoire Munster managed to hold on to fifth place, while Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä — who had problems on Friday — finished just 12.8 seconds behind.
Rovanperä dropped out of the title fight after a difficult Rally Japan. The Finnish driver is now 24 points behind the leader, meaning that winning the championship would require both Ogier and Evans to falter in Saudi Arabia.
“It was a really difficult stage. It was also dangerous because there was aquaplaning in the fast sections everywhere. If the rain stops, it’ll definitely make a big difference. This wasn’t the weekend we hoped for. We just haven’t been consistent enough this year. We’ll try once more in Saudi Arabia,” Rovanperä summed up.
Oliver Solberg finished seventh overall in Toyota’s Rally2 car. Although he has already secured the WRC2 title, Solberg is no longer competing for class points, so the WRC2 victory went to Spain’s Alejandro Cachón.
The final round of the WRC season will take place in Saudi Arabia from 27–30 November.
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 3:21:08.9 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +11.6 |
| 3. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:16.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +3:18.1 |
| 5. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +6:48.7 |
| 6. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +7:01.5 |
| 7. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +9:35.5 |
| 8. | Alejandro Cachon | Toyota | +10:41.6 |
| 9. | Nikolai Gryazin | Skoda | +11:36.2 |
| 10. | Jan Solans | Toyota | +12:26.0 |
Super Sunday Standings
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 48:13.9 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +5.1 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +33.6 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +43.6 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +52.9 |
Rally Japan itinerary (CET):
Thursday 6 November
01:01 Shakedown: Kuragaike Park (2.75 km)
08:05 SS1: Kuragaike Park SSS (2.75 km)
Friday 7 November
23:06 SS2: Inabu / Shitara 1 (17.08 km)
00:29 SS3: Shinshiro 1 (17.41 km)
02:02 SS4: Isegami’s Tunnel 1 (19.66 km)
03:57 Service (40 min)
05:35 SS5: Isegami’s Tunnel 2 (19.66 km)
06:53 SS6: Inabu / Shitara 2 (17.08 km)
08:16 SS7: Shinshiro 2 (17.41 km)
Saturday 8 November
23:23 SS8: Obara 1 (16.44 km)
00:34 SS9: Ena 1 (21.25 km)
02:05 SS10: Mt Kasagi 1 (21.74 km)
04:35 SS11: Mt Kasagi 2 (21.74 km)
06:08 SS12: Ena 2 (21.25 km)
07:21 SS13: Obara 2 (16.44 km)
09:35 SS14: Toyota City SSS (3.05 km)
Sunday 9 November
00:39 SS15: Nukata 1 (20.23 km)
01:35 SS16: Lake Mikawako 1 (13.98 km)
02:53 SS17: Okazaki SSS 1 (1.98 km)
03:04 SS18: Okazaki SSS 2 (1.98 km)
04:33 SS19: Nukata 2 (20.23 km)
06:15 SS20: Lake Mikawako 2 (13.98 km) *Power Stage
