Rally Japan – SS11: Evans gains more time on Ogier, Fourmaux third

Having already won SS10 on this same course, Elfyn Evans remained composed over the 21,7 km of this stage. He was in contention for the overall victory in this Rally from Japan, the leader of WRC he finished his attempt in 14:07.5, gaining six tenths of a second on Sébastien OgierStill leading the overall standings, the eight-time world champion has yet to win a stage today, and is seeing the pressure mounting against the exemplary consistency of his Welsh rival. Third in this stage, Adrien fourmaux also ranks third overall.

In fact, the pilot Hyundai continues to show his speed this Saturday. Gaining another 1,1 seconds on Sami Pajari, the Frenchman is a standout in the middle of four Toyota. Ott TänakSixth place is nearly 17 seconds behind the benchmark time for comparison. Meanwhile, one of the Toyotas performing well in this Rally Japan failed to deliver a competitive finish. Takamoto Katsuta, who was in contention for the win before this stage and far from being out of contention with Sébastien Ogier, lost everything. Making a costly mistake, the Japanese driver damaged the front right of his car, losing power steering in the process. Several minutes behind, the local driver saw his chances of success, or even a podium finish, end at this point.

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In WRC2, Alejandro Cachon managed to outpace Oliver Solberg, gaining 1,5 seconds on the Swede. At 6:08 AM (French time), the 12th stage of Rally Japan will see Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans battle it out again, with the gap potentially narrowing depending on the Welshman's performance.

WRC – Rally Japan
Rankings after SS11