Tänak had a slight disadvantage to Elfyn Evans in the morning but struck back in the afternoon. Evans, aiming to secure his second position, lost significant time on the day’s longest stage, which he hadn’t driven earlier in the rally. Tänak, who also hadn’t driven it in the morning, heads into Sunday with a 36-second lead over Evans.
“Definitely, tricky stage we didn’t do first time. Not all the notes were perfect. This morning, Evans was really good but on the hard tyre we are doing well so we need to be happy. The pressure has been there always. For sure, it is not like the time I had to defend, but for the moment we need to only push. The target is very clear.”,” Tänak summarised.
Thierry Neuville climbed to seventh place, overtaking Citroën driver Nikolay Gryazin. This provisional position awards Neuville four championship points, provided he completes the short spectator stage later on Saturday and Sunday’s stages. Neuville still needs two more points on Sunday to secure the championship.
The rally’s third-place driver, Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier, trails Tänak by over two minutes due to a puncture on Friday. However, Ogier overtook Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux in the afternoon, with a 9.1-second advantage by the end of SS15.
“Again, another clean stage with the conditions. Consistent grip. A lot of corners, very slow. After the disastrous start of the rally,” Ogier reflected.
Fourmaux remained positive despite losing third place
“What a stage! Good day today, I am quite happy with what we have done. We lost one position, well done to Ogier. We have kept the pressure on Taka, improved our pace, I hope the car is going to work tomorrow. What a stage, when you are in there you feel like it would never end. Small change, but it helped me,” Fourmaux joked.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta remains fifth, just 5.4 seconds behind Fourmaux, while M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster is sixth. Gryazin leads the WRC2 category in seventh place, ahead of Neuville and Sami Pajari.
Pajari is still second in WRC2, keeping him firmly on track for the class championship.
“If we are faster than Gryazin I guess it is quite good. I must say he has been really strong this weekend,” Pajari commented.
One short spectator stage remains on Saturday. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Japan standings after SS15/21:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 2:38:05.4 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +36.0 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +2:08.9 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +2:18.0 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +2:23.4 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +3:05.4 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +7:41.4 |
| 8. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +7:50.8 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +9:13.9 |
| 10. | Hiroki Arai | Skoda | +10:03.8 |
| 11. | Heikki Kovalainen | Toyota | +10:35.2 |
| 12. | Gus Greensmith | Skoda | +11:17.3 |
| 13. | Chris Ingram | Toyota | +11:40.3 |
Rally Japan itinerary (CET):
Thursday 21 November
01.01 Shakedown: Kuragaike Park (2.75 km)
11.05 SS1: Toyota Stadium SSS 1 (2.15 km)
Friday, 22 November
23:44 SS2: Isegami's Tunnel 1 (23.67 km)
00:44 SS3: Inabu / Shitara 1 (19.38 km)
02:12 SS4: Shinshiro 1 (17.41 km)
04:27 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
05:32 SS5: Isegami's Tunnel 2 (23.67 km)
06:32 SS6: Inabu / Shitara 2 (19.38 km)
08:00 SS7: Shinshiro 2 (17.41 km)
10:35 SS8: Okazaki SSS 1 (2.54 km)
10:44 SS9: Okazaki SSS 2 (2.54 km)
Saturday, 23 November
00:05 SS10: Mt. Kasagi 1 (16.47 km)
01:03 SS11: Nenoue Kougen 1 (11.60 km)
02:16 SS12: Ena 1 (22.79 km)
04:04 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
05:05 SS13: Mt. Kasagi 2 (16.47 km)
06:08 SS14: Nenoue Kougen 2 (11.60 km)
07:16 SS15: Ena 2 (22.79 km)
10:07 Service (45 min)
11:05 SS16: Toyota Stadium SSS 2 (2.15 km)
Sunday, 24 November
23:39 SS17: Nukata 1 (20.23 km)
00:35 SS18: Lake Mikawako 1 (13.98 km)
01:38 SS19: Nukata 2 (20.23 km)
03:49 Service (15 min)
04:17 SS20: Toyota Stadium SSS 3 (2.15 km)
06:15 SS21: Lake Mikawako 2 (13.98 km) Power Stage
