Rally Japan: Fourmaux dominates the Toyotas, Evans catches up with Ogier, a recap of the night before SS11

Ce Rally from Japan WRC is still far from having delivered its verdict! While Sébastien Ogier Although he began to pull away after the seventh special stage of the weekend, the Frenchman did not dominate any of the three early stages of the day in Japan. However, the French flag was still represented at the top of the timesheets, since it was Adrien fourmaux who took the lead at the expense of the pilots Toyota despite being well ahead on Friday. Winner of stages 8 and 9, the driver Hyundai finished the 10th stage in third place, just behind Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.

Unlike last night, when Josh McErean and Kalle Rovanperä experienced mishaps, this night was relatively uneventful in terms of mistakes. Only Sami Pajari had a slight scare, which he quickly recovered from. In the overall standings, however, the situation remains wide open. Naturally, Adrien Fourmaux initially extended his lead over his Finnish rival thanks to his performance. Fourth in the standings, the Hyundai driver now has an 11-second advantage over fifth place, while only 14 seconds separate him from the podium. Meanwhile, Thierry Neuville He did not have the same luck. Already in a very bad position, the Belgian suffered a suspension breach, preventing him from taking part in the rest of Saturday's events.

Saturday morning wake-up call 😳#WRC | #RallyJapan 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/4SabQ4vScC

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) November 8, 2025

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At the front, Sébastien Ogier still leads the Rally Japan, but his advantage over Elfyn Evans has shrunk to just two seconds. Takamoto Katsuta, meanwhile, has closed the gap and is now 5,2 seconds behind the leader. Four more stages are about to be run, starting with the 11th stage, which will begin at 4:35 a.m. (French time).