Rally Japan – SS5: Elfyn Evans sets another stage win, Toyota takes one-two-three

As if on cue, Elfyn Evans delivered another superb performance over the 24 kilometers of the Isegami Tunnel special stage (SS5). The Welshman set the fastest time, just as he did on the first run during SS2, improving his time by 45 seconds, a sign of the changing conditions on the Japanese asphalt. But he wasn't the only one to be faster than in the morning: Oliver Solberg was right behind him, just 1.1 seconds off the pace, while Sébastien Ogier, third in SS5, concedes only 2.8s. The trio Toyota He therefore continues his fight at the front, where Evans still occupies the overall lead. 

The five-time world championship runner-up now has a 16.2-second lead over Oliver Solberg and 19.6 seconds over Sébastien Ogier. However, nothing is definitive yet, as there is still one special stage to run in this first leg and the Rally Japan promises to be different starting Saturday with a different running order. The lesson from SS5 is also the overwhelming dominance of the Toyotas, who simply secured a quintuple victory ahead of the three HyundaiThe Japanese brand is particularly dominant on asphalt and leaves only crumbs for its Korean rival.

In difficulty (+22.4s on Evans), Thierry Neuville cedes fourth place in the general classification to Sami Pajari, but the Belgian remains the highest-placed Hyundai driver (5th) with a six-second lead over local driver Takamoto Katsuta.

In WRC2, the battle continues between Alejandro Cachon's Toyota and Nikolay Gryazin's Lancia. The Bulgarian set the fastest time, 2.7 seconds ahead of his rival. This allows Gryazin to reclaim the overall lead, which he had relinquished to Cachon after SS4. There's exactly one second between the two men, who are currently in a class of their own!

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WRC – Rally Japan 
The classification of SS5

The general classification after SS5