Rally Japan – SS11: Stage win for Pajari, Evans extends his lead over Ogier

Elfyn Evans made a perfect start to the second half of the Rally from Japan, making the most of the 11th of the 20 special stages on the program. The Welshman, second in SS11, gained 3,1 seconds on Sébastien Ogier, relegated to 17 seconds behind overall. Once again, the Toyota put on a show and scored a quadruple in the wake of Sami Pajari, who set the fastest time, his second of the weekend. "This special stage was really nice, super clean," appreciated the WRC2 2024 champion.

Takamoto Katsuta, third in SS11, also delivered a strong performance, pushing hard to climb back onto the provisional podium and, in particular, to close the gap to third place held by Pajari. But the younger driver had plenty left in the tank and kept the local favorite at a comfortable distance (+21,1 seconds). For him, as for Sébastien Ogier, the gaps to the drivers ahead are becoming significant, but not insurmountable. Meanwhile, the driver from Gap experienced some visibility problems on a shaded road in the Japanese forest. "I had a hard time with the lighting, it was really terrible."he breathed upon arrival.

At Hyundai, Adrien fourmaux He was the fastest, but only managed 5th place, behind the four Toyotas still in the race, 13 seconds behind Sami Pajari. The driver from northern France also holds 5th place overall and is having a good rally considering the performance gap between the Hyundai and the Toyota on asphalt.

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WRC – Rally Japan
The classification of SS11

The general classification after SS11