After Rally Japan, championship points will be contested only once more – in the brand-new Saudi Arabian round at the end of November. The title fight is between three drivers. Leading the standings is Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, with his teammates Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä trailing 13 points behind.
Rovanperä has dominated on tarmac this season, having won both in the Canary Islands in April and in Central Europe a couple of weeks ago. The Japanese round is also held on asphalt, but it has never been among the Finnish star’s favourites.
“It’s always quite a big challenge. It’s not a particularly pleasant rally for me. The roads are really narrow, and you never quite get a proper flow there,” says Rovanperä.
“When there are wider roads, you can do proper tarmac driving, which seems to work well for us this year. But there’s not much of that in Japan. Most of the time it’s just technical and dirty roads.”
The situation in the championship is extremely tight. Rovanperä is giving everything he’s got in pursuit of his third career title.
“The expectations are good, even though the rally is difficult. It’s not within my comfort zone, but given the situation in the championship, we’ll be pushing for a strong result,” Rovanperä sums up.
“It’s a case of seeing who wins. There are still three of us in contention, and Elfyn still has the best chance.”
The season finale in Saudi Arabia is a major unknown. If the top three make it through Rally Japan without issues, the title fight will be decided in the brand-new round.
“It’ll certainly be interesting since it’s a new rally for everyone. No one really knows yet what to expect there. We’re looking forward to it with great anticipation,” Rovanperä tells.
