P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Rally Japan dawned wet on Sunday. Through it all sailed Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais to take the victory and narrow the championship points gap to three points over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Ogier and Evans traded tenths of a second as they had on Saturday, but Ogier’s win on stage 16 – by […]
Rally Japan kicked off with rainy weather conditions on Sunday. Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais clinched the victory, narrowing the championship points gap to just three points behind Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin.
Throughout the competition, Ogier and Evans exchanged tenths of a second, with Ogier’s crucial one-second win on stage 16 tipping the scales in his favor. The final stage solidified Ogier’s lead, extending it by 3.2 seconds before the Wolf Power Stage remained.
Despite Evans pushing hard in the challenging conditions, he fell short by a mere one-tenth of a second in a dramatic finish. Sami Pajari secured his first Rally1 podium, contributing to a dominant Toyota Gazoo Racing performance at home.
Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja finished in fourth place, salvaging Hyundai’s day with a stage win. Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria’s crash early on ended their rally, causing extensive damage to the car.
Thierry Neuville faced more misfortune, retiring before the first stage due to malfunctioning windscreen wipers. Gregoire Munster and Louis Louka impressively secured fifth place, while Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunene staged a remarkable comeback to keep their championship hopes alive with a few valuable points.
Oliver Solberg and Elliot Edmonson concluded in seventh overall, dominating as the fastest WRC2 car without scoring points. Spanish duo Alejandro Cachon and Borja Rozada secured their first WRC2 victory, edging out their competitors by 7.2 seconds. Tomorrow in Motorsport Monday, the complete report will be available.
