On the previous stage, the rear-left corner of his Toyota hit a guardrail. Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen made quick repairs before the final test of the loop, as a suspension arm had failed.
On the Isegami’s Tunnel stage that ended the morning, Rovanperä drove carefully, losing even more valuable time. He eventually finished almost three minutes down on the fastest time.
“We managed to fix the car enough to get through the loop at least. Now we just need to make it back to service,” Rovanperä said as he headed slowly towards the service park.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä has dropped more than five minutes off the lead. In practice, that means the Toyota driver is out of contention for top positions in the Japanese asphalt rally.
However, he still has every chance of scoring points. In previous years, a five-minute deficit has been enough for sixth or seventh place in Japan.
From a title perspective, though, those positions are of little comfort. Rovanperä is set to lose further ground in the championship if his Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier get through the weekend without issues. But as Ogier pointed out, there is still a long way to go.
“It’s not over yet, it’s a long rally – too long rally still ahead,” Ogier smiled when asked about Rovanperä’s title situation.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans set the fastest time on the demanding Isegami’s Tunnel stage, 1.6 seconds quicker than Ogier. However, the Frenchman jumped into the overall lead and now holds a one-second advantage over Evans.
“I was a bit cautious on this one, because I’ve always had a puncture in here. So I was fearing it a little bit,” Ogier admitted.
Rally Japan is shaping up to be a battle between Toyota drivers. Third place belongs to Takamoto Katsuta, just 1.7 seconds behind the lead, while Sami Pajari completes a Toyota top four (+9.5s).
As expected, Hyundai drivers have struggled with their car’s setup in the early stages. The closest to matching Toyota’s pace has been Adrien Fourmaux in fifth, 15.8 seconds adrift of the leader. Ott Tänak (+45.8) and Thierry Neuville (+1:01.1) have fallen much further back.
Three more stages remain on Friday before Rally Japan continues through to Sunday’s finish.
Rally Japan standings after SS4/20:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 37:06.5 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1.0 |
| 3. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1.7 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +9.5 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +15.8 |
| 6. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +45.8 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:01.1 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:22.3 |
| 9. | Nikolay Gryazin | Skoda | +1:59.2 |
| 10. | Alejandro Cachon | Toyota | +2:00.1 |
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
