Sébastien Ogier highlights a "limiting point" at the Rally Japan

Winner of the previous edition, Sébastien Ogier He only has the top step of the podium in mind in Japan. The Frenchman sits third in the overall standings after six stages completed on the first day. Elfyn Evans leads him by 17,1 seconds, but Oliver Solberg is between him and the championship leader.

“Oliver isn’t really my priority right now, but we’ve certainly tried to fight for it. We’re focused on [Elfyn Evans], partly because we know our Swedish friend doesn’t quite have the same approach to racing; it’s all or nothing.”Sébastien Ogier finds it amusing."We know that sometimes things can change very quickly, but fighting with him isn't the important thing right now; the important thing is Elfyn, who's leading the championship. He had a very solid day, and we'll have to be very good to try and catch up, but nothing is impossible."

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"The tires don't allow us to attack very hard. They quickly wear out in the special stage."

Despite three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes in the first six stages, the Gapençais driver remains ambivalent about his performance. Toyota currently occupies the top four positions in the overall standings, and the reigning world champion will not be content with anything other than the top spot. The reason is a complaint that Sébastien Ogier has been reiterating since their introduction: the use of Hankook tires.

"The tires aren't allowing us to push very hard. That was the limiting factor today. They wear out quickly on the stage, so we have a lot of movement.", explains the 42-year-old pilot. It's not ideal, but it's a factor everyone has to manage, so we'll try to work on getting more comfortable with it. The important thing is that we're not completely out of contention either. Of course, 17 seconds is significant, but we'll continue working on the car to find the synergy we're trying to achieve this weekend, so we can drive at the limit.

While the first day included two new special stages, on which Oliver Solberg shone, Saturday's program is similar to last year's and is therefore better suited to the drivers, although this Rally The 2026 Rally Japan will not take place at the usual time. Sébastien Ogier will therefore base his route on the 2025 special stages of the rally in which he won in Japan.

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