Rally Japan – SS7 – Ogier beaten but still leads after a very close stage

After winning stages 2, 5, and 6, Sébastien Ogier finished fourth in this seventh special stage, the last of the day. Rally from Japan WRCDominant and capable of accelerating when his rivals were managing their effort more, the French driver nevertheless saw Elfyn Evans take the win on the final lap. In fact, behind the Welshman, four drivers were separated by just three-tenths of a second.

Elfyn Evans, first in the final stage of the day, remains in contention with Sébastien Ogier thanks to this performance. Takamoto Katsuta, only a tenth of a second behind the leader, notably set the same time as the Frenchman. Adrien fourmaux, both very fast on this stage. Although the Hyundai Although they had a poor start to this new event on the calendar, the Frenchman was quick to point out that his efforts seemed to be paying off at this stage of the Rally Japan. "To be honest, I really gave it my all. We took a step forward today." he rejoiced after his remarkable appearance.

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Ogier maintains his lead, Fourmaux and Pajari battle for the position

With the first half of Rally Japan still to go, the battle within the battle – besides the fight for the win – is fiercely contested for fourth place. Adrien Fourmaux, with a time of 1:12:12.2 after the first seven stages, sees Sami Pajari remain just three-tenths of a second behind. Having led for much of the day, the Finn was inevitably overtaken by the Frenchman thanks to this final, effective attempt.

Overall, Sébastien Ogier maintains his lead in Rally Japan. With a 7,9-second advantage, the Frenchman isn't yet guaranteed to stay in first place, but he has shown particularly reassuring signs in terms of pace. On home soil, Takamoto Katsuta is in contention, while for Elfyn Evans, locked in a three-way battle, the challenge now lies in raising his ambitions to close the gap further. It's worth noting, of course, that after Kalle Rovanperä's mistake in SS3, the Finn's title hopes appear significantly diminished. In WRC2, Oliver Solberg, already crowned champion, continues his dominant performance. With a lead of over 35 seconds on Nikolay Gryazin, the Swede seems to be the only one in his category truly delighted with his car's handling.

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The next special stages will be available to follow from 23:20 (French time) this Friday, while the summary of the night will be published tomorrow morning on AUTOhebdo.fr.

WRC – Rally Japan
Rankings after SS7