Rally Japan - SS16: Katsuta saves face, Evans still in the lead

The local driver set his first fastest time of the rally at Lake Mikawako. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin maintain their overall lead, although Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais have closed to within 17,8 seconds of the leader.

Published 31/05/2026 à 02:46

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Rally Japan – SS16: Katsuta saves face, Evans still in the lead

So Rally From Japan, the local star didn't have the weekend he'd hoped for. However, Takamoto Katsuta, partnered with Aaron Johnston, hasn't given up and just set his first fastest time of the weekend in SS16, one-tenth of a second ahead. Sébastien Ogier – Vincent Landais, and two tenths ahead of Oliver Solberg – Elliott Edmondson.

Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin posted the fifth fastest time on the stage, but nevertheless remain comfortably in the lead of the Japanese rally with a 17,8-second advantage over Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen, fourth on this stage, also remain third in the standings.

In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin gained some breathing room over Alejandro Cachón, beating him by 1,4 seconds to extend the gap to 5,6 seconds. Two more stages remain in this loop, or rather, one stage to be run twice: the 2,56-kilometer Kuragaike spectacle stage. Following these two runs, the crews will return to service for 15 minutes before heading back out to the Nukata and Lake Mikawako stages for the Power Stage.

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