So far, Ott Tänak has been the king of the afternoon in Rally Japan. However, on SS7, Tänak had to concede the stage win to Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
In the “Land of the Rising Sun,” the sun rises quickly but also sets rapidly—a reality the drivers experienced firsthand.
“This one is quite tricky, the light is going down quite quickly. With normal lights you don’t see anything in the forest,” Tänak explained.
Tänak’s teammate Thierry Neuville had already encountered the same issue earlier on the stage.
“No change, should never have started. It is dark in the forest, we have no lights. We will finish today then see what we can do tomorrow.”,” Neuville complained.
In the overall standings, Evans remains second but has now closed the gap to Tänak to exactly 20 seconds. Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux moved up to third place, while Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta dropped to fourth. The pair is separated by just 0.8 seconds.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier holds fifth place, with Gregoire Munster in sixth. Thierry Neuville, chasing his first WRC title, has now fallen more than seven minutes behind the leader. In WRC2, Sami Pajari remains second in his category and is still in contention for the championship.
Neuville’s title hopes aren’t over yet, as he still has the opportunity to collect enough points on Super Sunday and in the Power Stage.
The manufacturers’ championship battle, on the other hand, remains wide open, especially after Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen retired earlier on Friday after crashing into a tree.
Rally Japan continues with two more stages on Friday. The competition wraps up on Sunday.
Rally Japan standings after SS7/21:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 1:22:13.9 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +20.0 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:53.9 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:54.7 |
| 5. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +2:15.4 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +2:31.4 |
| 7. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +3:34,6 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +4:43.7 |
| 8. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +7:08.5 |
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
