Toyota’s incredible run just keeps on going. The team claimed its 11th win of the season as Kalle Rovanperä took victory on the asphalt event. Elfyn Evans secured a Toyota one-two by moving ahead of Hyundai’s Ott Tänak on the final stage.
At the same time, Toyota sealed its fifth consecutive manufacturers’ title. Hyundai no longer has any chance of catching the Japanese marque, as Toyota’s lead stands at a staggering 168 points.
The drivers’ title will also be decided among Toyota’s own men. Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä are covered by just 13 points ahead of the final two rounds. Tänak, meanwhile, is already 50 points adrift of the top.
RallyJournalist.com journalists Toni Heinonen, Aki Hietavala and Ville Hirvonen rate each top-class driver on a school-style scale, where 10 is the best and 4 the weakest grade.
Toni Heinonen
Kalle Rovanperä 9½ (Position: 1st)
The third win of the season came at just the right time. After Ogier’s retirement, Rovanperä no longer needed to push flat out, as solid points were secured even with a cautious drive. He didn’t go fully on the attack during Super Sunday, which slightly lowers the grade, but the result was what mattered most: the Finn now has the championship fight largely in his own hands – as do his team-mates.
Elfyn Evans 9 (Position: 2nd)
Overall a lively performance from the Welshman, even if he couldn’t quite match Rovanperä’s pace. The rally was like a microcosm of Evans’s whole season: not dazzling, but ultimately highly commendable. On the final day Evans switched into attack mode and snatched third place from Tänak on the closing stage. Thanks to a strong weekend, Evans now holds the upper hand in the title fight against Rovanperä and Ogier.
Ott Tänak 9- (Position: 3rd)
That was the end of Tänak’s title hopes. Hyundai used every trick in the book to help their Estonian – he no longer scored manufacturers’ points and had last year’s car available – yet even that wasn’t enough to beat the Toyotas. He suffered a bitter defeat to Evans in the end. It was the same story for Tänak again: the speed seems to be there, but the machinery just doesn’t fit him.
Takamoto Katsuta 8 (Position: 4th)
Stayed in the shadow of his team-mates, though not entirely in a negative way. This was Katsuta’s best drive in a long time and a deserved fourth place. He still had a gap to the leaders, but had he raised the risk level, the bushes would likely have taken a hit.
Adrien Fourmaux 6½ (Position: 5th)
In the end, a rather lifeless performance from the Frenchman. It looked promising at first, but once the stages got dirtier, Fourmaux was in trouble. He admitted during the rally that he had completely lost the feeling. What’s worrying is that the lack of feeling now seems to show as a lack of fighting spirit too.
Sami Pajari 7- (Position: 6th)
A few flashes of pace, but not Pajari’s best outing this season. Still, a steady performance behind the front-runners deserves a fair grade. A small bonus for picking up a Power Stage point.
Josh McErlean 5½ (Position: 7th)
A very lacklustre performance from the Ford driver. When the gap to the leaders at the finish is nearly six minutes, there’s not much to praise.
Grégoire Munster 4½ (position: 27th)
In terms of pace, he was clearly quicker than his team-mate McErlean, but he damaged his car on Friday and had to retire. Hence the poor grade.
Sébastien Ogier 6½ (Position: 29th)
Might have deserved a higher mark, but Saturday’s off ended any chance of a sixth win of the season. According to Ogier and Toyota, the incident was caused by a puncture that he wasn’t warned about due to a sensor fault. Luckily, he was able to rejoin on Sunday, and his pace was once again spot on: ten points from Super Sunday and the Power Stage win. The title fight will now be thrilling in the final rallies, as Evans, Ogier and Rovanperä must all push each other to the limit.
Thierry Neuville 4 (retired)
The reigning champion still couldn’t score his first win of the season. Hyundai’s car speared nose-first into a bridge barrier on the final day, ending his rally there and then – and earning a failing grade as a result.
It’s worth venting a bit about Hyundai’s miserable situation. With only two rallies remaining, Hyundai has taken just one victory compared with Toyota’s 11 wins. Now the team has already lost its chance of the manufacturers’ crown and, practically speaking, also the drivers’ title. Such humiliation hasn’t been seen in the WRC for a long time. It really makes you wonder – can Hyundai recover from this crisis even next season?
Aki Hietavala
Kalle Rovanperä 9½
A dominant performance in the overall classification and a much-needed victory in the bag. However, let’s take a little off for Sunday’s performance. Ogier had such an overwhelming starting position that there was no chance of keeping up with him. Still, Kalle lost to Evans by a second in Sunday’s results and by 0.3 seconds on the Power Stage. That meant a couple of lost points and a slightly worse starting position for Japan. Kalle himself was frustrated by that. Still, Kalle is back again! He’s still fighting for the championship.
Elfyn Evans 9
His pace was rather lacklustre, especially on Saturday. The score is rescued to a commendable level by a great recovery drive on Sunday. He picked up an important eight points on Sunday and now leads the championship by 13 points. He has always enjoyed the Rally Japan, so all the cards are now in Evans’s hands in the title battle. However, Evans can’t afford any mistakes either.
Ott Tänak 9-
The Estonian also deserves a good grade. The Hyundai doesn’t suit him at all, but Tänak fights fiercely. In the title race, though, this was a setback. The gap is now 50 points. It would take quite a miracle for him to climb back into contention.
Takamoto Katsuta 8
A few fastest stage times and a very consistent performance from the Japanese driver. This surely boosted his confidence ahead of the most important rally of the season – his home event in Japan in a few weeks’ time. He will certainly give absolutely everything in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Adrien Fourmaux 7+
It was again quite a struggle for Hyundai on asphalt. Fourmaux also drove a test rally, so more was expected. There’s something so fundamentally wrong in Hyundai’s basic structure that it just can’t seem to be tuned to work properly.
Sami Pajari 6+
I expected more from Sami. He already had experience from last year, but his pace wasn’t particularly magical. The difference between a good and a bad stage is far too big. In Japan, we hope for the eye of the tiger and some risk-taking. If Pajari continues with Toyota next season, I just wonder how his pace would suddenly rise to the very top. Still, he reached the finish without problems.
Josh McErlean 6
The best Ford driver – but I don’t know if that’s any real achievement. I’ve said many times that it’s not McErlean’s fault that the Irishman is competing in the wrong category.
Gregoire Munster 4
Luxembourg, zero points. That was already the sixth time this season he has gone without a single point. Altogether, he’s collected only 25 points. That’s pitifully little in the current World Championship, where the competition is indeed extremely tough, but there are only about ten drivers starting in each event. You’d need a magnifying glass to find any sign of improvement there.
Sebastien Ogier 7
A magnificent Sunday salvaged the weekend to an acceptable level. He was forgiven for his off, as his tyre had punctured. Ten points from Sunday kept Ogier in the title fight, but he has now gone from being hunted to being the hunter.
Thierry Neuville 4
He messed things up for himself already on Friday with a puncture, after which there was no chance for the lead. From there, it turned into a test session. He hit the guardrail on Sunday and scored zero points. That also sealed the fact that the champion won’t be defending his title. Not a single win this season! The champion’s decline has been steep.
Ville Hirvonen
Kalle Rovanperä 10
A brilliant performance. Kalle fought superbly against his team-mate Sébastien Ogier and could very well have taken the top spot even without the French legend’s crash, but once Ogier made the mistake, Rovanperä managed the situation magnificently. Rovanperä’s relentless pace was surely one of the reasons why Ogier ended up making the mistake in the first place. He’s now truly back in the championship fight. If he goes on to win the title, Rovanperä’s season could rightly be described as a rise to triumph through adversity.
Elfyn Evans 9
A commendable performance. He seemed to find his fighting spirit at just the right time and ultimately left Hyundai’s Ott Tänak behind in third. He’s now back at the top of the World Championship standings. The Welshman has produced the kind of steady form all season that suits him well: no fireworks or flashes of brilliance, but consistently lethal results. And as we well know, the championship doesn’t always go to the fastest driver – but to the most consistent one. This could finally be Evans’s year, considering his first starting position in Japan and how well that rally has suited him in the past. If Evans wins in Japan, he’ll only need an error-free drive and solid points in Saudi Arabia to secure his first career title.
Ott Tänak 8
The Estonian deserves praise too. He came close to making a major mistake but avoided it, and after Ogier’s crash, he really got into the fight. Hyundai hasn’t been able to provide the 2019 World Champion with a car capable of contending for the title – that should be said outright.
Takamoto Katsuta 8
No mistakes, and at times very tidy driving. The Japanese driver seemed to have switched into home-rally mode one event early and drove a very consistent rally this time. He had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
Adrien Fourmaux 7-
An average performance. Didn’t really make much of an impression in any way. Avoided the bigger traps but lacked the pace to challenge the top drivers at any point. A small deduction for essentially giving up before the rally was even over.
Sami Pajari 6
A weaker performance from the Finn. He didn’t drive badly as such, but again there was room for improvement in terms of pace. There was no real attack at any point, and it’s starting to feel like we won’t see one this season at all. Sami has promised better speed, but it simply hasn’t materialised.
Josh McErlean 6
Especially early in the rally, he was among the also-rans and initially lost out to his team-mate Grégoire Munster. He made it to the finish stages, but that’s about it – just participating again.
Gregoire Munster 4
He damaged his car already on the fifth special stage after suffering a double puncture following a jump. After that, he simply drove to the finish. There are still too many mistakes, even though he’s occasionally shown flashes of promise. But that speed counts for nothing if the car can’t stay intact and on the road.
Sébastien Ogier 4
The crash that led to his retirement wasn’t entirely Ogier’s fault, as Toyota’s tyre-pressure warning system failed to alert him to a deflated tyre. Even so, he arrived at the crash site at a frightening – and likely far too high – speed. It seems the Frenchman’s nerves may have faltered for the first time. Perhaps he was rattled by Rovanperä’s relentlessly fast pace and pushed too hard as a result.
Thierry Neuville 4
The Belgian’s dreadful season continued. He crashed heavily into a bridge barrier at the start of the final day and had to retire. Before that, he never really managed to get the best out of himself or the car. The main thing, however, is that he and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe escaped unharmed from what looked like a serious crash.
