P1racenews AI automatic summary:
WRC Japan: Evans emerges from snow shower with lead intact
The Toyota driver maintained a strong lead over his teammate Sebastien Ogier, with a 1m14.3s advantage, as they carefully navigated through challenging stages, including one affected by snow. The two were followed by Kalle Rovanpera in third to complete a Toyota 1-2-3, with Esapekka Lappi from Hyundai in fourth. Ott Tanak from M-Sport climbed to fifth, while Takamoto Katsuta from Toyota impressed with a clean sweep of stage wins, placing him in sixth. Andreas Mikkelsen slipped to seventh, and in the WRC2 category, Gregoire Munster and Nikolay Gryazin held the eighth and ninth positions respectively. Heikki Kovalainen retired, allowing Kajetan Kajetanowicz to take tenth place. In the afternoon loop, Katsuta continued to shine with another stage win, while Evans and Rovanpera maintained control of their positions. As the day progressed, Katsuta’s performance remained strong, winning another stage and putting pressure on Tanak in fifth place. The crews would conclude the day with a pass through the Toyota Stadium Super Special in Toyota City.
