Evans leads with Solberg delayed by deer, Katsuta frustrated

World Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans produced a faultless drive in tricky changeable conditions to lead Rally Japan from Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg.

Evans made the most of starting first on the road while overnight rain meant Friday morning’s stages featured several damp patches waiting to catch out crews. 

Solberg took the early rally lead after winning the brand-new Asuke opening stage before Evans snatched the advantage after delivering a stunning effort in SS2 Isegami’s Tunnel test. While the ambient temperatures were hot and humid, the stage conditions became progressively worse after every car as a lengthy muddy section developed in the middle of the stage.

Evans, however, was 7.5s faster than Solberg before going on to win the final stage of the loop to open up a 17.7s lead over his Swedish team-mate. 

Asked if the road position was an advantage, Evans replied: “I guess so yes, especially in this middle part of the Isegami’s Tunnel stage it got very narrow with a few small cuts, so they are making a difference to the road condition, and that type of scenario is costing the guys behind time,” said Evans.

Solberg admitted he was too careful in SS2, which cost him the lead to Evans, but there was nothing he could do about what lost him time in SS3 Inabu/Shitara 1. The Monte Carlo winner was forced to slow down to avoid deer that appeared in the road, and lost confidence thereafter.

“It was a really fast long straight and I came around a corner and there were four deer in the road,” said Solberg. “I braked and in Sweden I normally know what the deer do. I have a feeling if they go left or right, but here they go everywhere. I went to the left, and they went to the left, so I then had to go to the right and one of them went to the right. 

“I lost a lot of time, around six seconds, and then I lost a lot of feeling with my driving. I hope [we can get some time back].”

Solberg ended the morning loop 0.5s ahead of last year’s Rally Japan winner Sebastien Ogier, who was hampered by starting sixth on the road. Ogier was 0.9s from the lead after stage one, but in the second test he dropped 16.7s to Evans as the road conditions worsened. 

“Of course it is not ideal, and on tarmac it is never easy to make up [the time], so we lost some ground to Elfyn and we are going to have to push very hard to catch that,” said Ogier.

Sebastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“But we have only done a small part of the rally, so of course we will keep trying. There was not much we could do. We could have taken more risk and saved a few seconds, but maybe you will stay in the stage, so it was very tricky.

“I’m not the kind of guy to give up, so for sure I will keep trying and push a bit more from now on.” 

Neuville surprised to be in the fight 

Thierry Neuville was surprised to be heading the Hyundai charge, ahead of two Toyotas in fourth overall, 28.6s from the lead.

The 2024 world champion had anticipated a difficult Rally Japan after a frustrating shakedown. However, the Belgian found a reasonable feeling behind the wheel of his i20 N.

“It is a nice surprise and we didn’t expect that. First of all we didn’t expect to have such a good feeling in the car and balance, and we didn’t expect to be in a small fight with the Toyotas. Nobody expected that,” said Neuville. 

“I didn’t really change anything after the shakedown but I felt comfortable after the first corner so I kept on going.”

Toyota’s Sami Pajari headed to midday service in fifth and was fortunate not to suffer a puncture after hitting a loose drain cover in the opening stage.

Katsuta frustrated by the conditions

It wasn’t the start to the rally that Takamoto Katsuta and his legions of local fans had hoped for, as a mistake in the opening stage proved costly. The Japanese driver slid wide on a damp patch and clipped a bank, causing a left-rear puncture. 

The puncture itself only cost Katsuta 6.7s in the stage, but it had a knock-on effect as he was forced to replace the damaged soft tyre with a hard in the damp conditions. Katsuta consequently lost 25.9s in SS2 and lost confidence in his pace notes. This was reflected again by an off onto grass in SS3 that he was lucky to recover from.

Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“It is still the beginning of the rally, but this is one of the worst loops I have ever had. I didn’t expect that slippy corner and we got a puncture,” said Katsuta.

“I was not able to trust the pace notes at all and in the last one I had a proper off, and we are lucky to be here to be honest. There is a long way to go, so I will try to do my best, but it will be tough to catch up in front.”

Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux admitted his set-up was “too aggressive for dry conditions” and couldn’t take advantage due to the damp sections of the stages. The Frenchman headed into the afternoon stage in seventh ahead of team-mate Hayden Paddon, who was hampered by an incorrect tyre choice, having picked hard-compound rubber. 

M-Sport-Ford drivers Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean also paid the price for selecting hard tyres in conditions that didn’t fully dry. The pair held ninth and 11th positions, sandwiching top WRC2 runner Nikolay Gryazin.   

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