Rally Japan – SS12: Elfyn Evans pulls off a great result, Sébastien Ogier no longer believes he can win

If there was any doubt, Elfyn Evans confirmed that he is indeed the fastest driver in Japan. The Welshman secured his fifth stage win on SS12, beating Sami Pajari by just 0,7 seconds. Evans is now firmly in the lead, 20 seconds ahead of his closest rival. Sébastien Ogier.

The Frenchman is beginning to lose his last illusions of victory. "It's beyond repair.""That's what he thought, bitterly, at the end of the special stage. While there are still eight special stages to cover, it's true that the gap is significant, especially since the last two of the day will be a double pass over a section of only 3,14 kilometers, not conducive to creating gaps."

Sami Pajari remains in third place overall. Having set the fastest time on SS11, the Finn nearly repeated the feat on SS12, but Elfyn Evans ultimately edged him out by just 0,7 seconds. Pajari has, however, extended his lead over Takamoto Katsuta, his closest rival.

Behind the Japanese driver, fourth in the special stage and overall, Adrien fourmaux continues to be the best driver HyundaiHe consolidates his 5th place with an 18-second lead over Thierry Neuville from now on.

ALSO READ > LIVE – Evans relegates Ogier to 20 seconds behind, follow the second stage of the Rally Japan with live text updates

WRC – Rally Japan
The classification of SS12

The general classification after SS12