With Neuville crowned, Hyundai chases Toyota in final sprint in Japan

If there are no more on the Pilots' side with the title assured of Thierry Neuville, there is still a lot of suspense among the Constructors, where the accident ofOtt Tänak during SS17, the first on Sunday, thwarted the plans of Hyundai.

Leader of the general standings at the start of the day, the Estonian was forced to retire after his violent exit. This forced the South Korean manufacturer to bet everything on Thierry Neuville while Toyota took the lead with Elfyn Evans leading in front Sébastien Ogier. Thus, the Belgian was given the green light to let loose and attack in these last special stages, including two scratch wins.

« The last races were complex with everything to lose and nothing to gain because we had to manage, confided the new champion before the break. But now I'm really enjoying it. I was able to push in this one. In the very dirty section I went more slowly because I want the car to be at the finish »

And the least we can say is that the duel is total since the two teams are tied on points before the last two special stages of the weekend (553 on each side). For the moment, Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen allow Hyundai to lead this Super Sunday ahead of Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier.

To the general of Rally From Japan, Elfyn Evans remains in the lead with more than 1'30 ahead of Sébastien Ogier. Adrien fourmaux managed to almost double his margin over Takamoto Katsuta. While he started the day with a 6" lead over the Japanese, the Northerner, provisionally third, now has a cushion of 1".

There are two stages remaining in this Rally Japan with the competition scheduled to resume at 4:17am this Sunday.

Rally1 general classification after SS19

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