Elfyn Evans ended a challenging opening day of FORUM8 Rally Japan at the head of the field, as Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT occupied the top four positions after six special stages on Friday.
The FIA World Rally Championship leader made the most of his road position and delivered a measured performance across Aichi’s technical asphalt stages to build a 15.7-second lead over team-mate Oliver Solberg. Defending Rally Japan winner Sébastien Ogier completed the provisional podium, just 1.4 seconds further back, with Sami Pajari fourth overall.
Evans was fourth-fastest on the brand-new Asuke opener, where overnight rain left damp sections beneath the trees and made tyre choice immediately difficult. His rally moved into gear on the first pass of Isegami’s Tunnel, where he set a decisive benchmark time 7.5 seconds faster than anyone else to take the lead.
From that point, the Welshman kept the rally under control. He added a further stage win on the morning pass of Inabu / Shitara, before managing his advantage through the afternoon repeat loop as conditions became drier but remained inconsistent in places. Because naturally, Japan’s asphalt decided “dry” and “predictable” were concepts best left to circuit racing.
“Road position. It is always road position,” Evans said after the final stage. “It has been an okay day for us overall. It has been relatively clean and we managed to keep a good rhythm, so other than that it has been okay.”
Solberg made the perfect start by winning the opening Asuke stage and repeated that success on the afternoon pass. However, the young Swede lost time on SS3 after slowing to avoid a deer on the road, before surviving a late moment on the final stage to reach the overnight halt second overall.
“It was a horrible stage,” Solberg said at the end of SS6. “I had way too many small mistakes. That was probably the worst stage today. I was a bit surprised by the time. I’m very disappointed. I’m a bit sad today. Instead of being 16sec behind, it could have been 10sec, but that’s life.”
Ogier, winner of FORUM8 Rally Japan last season, spent much of Friday searching for a stronger feeling from his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. The nine-time world champion was frustrated after losing 16.7 seconds to Evans on the morning pass of Isegami’s Tunnel, but kept Solberg under pressure throughout the afternoon to end the leg 17.1 seconds off the lead.
“Not ideal for sure,” Ogier said. “We were hoping for better. We did what we could. We still have to work to find the sweet spot in the car. I was fighting it all day.”
Pajari was fifth at midday but moved ahead of Thierry Neuville during the afternoon and signed off his Friday with the fastest time on SS6, Inabu / Shitara. The Finn ended the day 41.5 seconds from the lead, 24.4 seconds behind Ogier and 16.7 seconds clear of Neuville.
Neuville finished Friday as the leading Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team driver in fifth overall, 58.2 seconds behind Evans. The Belgian showed competitive speed in damp and greasy conditions but struggled for balance as the roads dried and he switched to the hard-compound Hankook tyre.
“Once we are on the hard tyre the balance is gone,” Neuville said. “It is the same story with this car. This car is not meant to go fast in these conditions.”
Home hero Takamoto Katsuta endured a difficult start to the event he most wants to win. The Japanese driver clipped a bank on a damp right-hander in the opening stage and picked up a left-rear puncture, then struggled for confidence through the remainder of the morning. He completed Friday sixth overall, 1min 03.8sec from the lead.
“It was one of the worst days I have had,” Katsuta said. “It is very bad and it was very frustrating. There are still two days to go.”
Adrien Fourmaux holds seventh after a challenging day in the second Hyundai. The Frenchman spun at a hairpin on the morning pass of Isegami’s Tunnel and was unable to find the balance he wanted, while team-mate Hayden Paddon completed his first day on the asphalt version of FORUM8 Rally Japan in eighth.
Jon Armstrong sits ninth for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, despite grazing a barrier on the afternoon Asuke stage and later dealing with an intercom issue. Team-mate Josh McErlean lost more than two and a half minutes after stopping to change a front-right puncture on SS5 and lies 12th overnight.
Alejandro Cachón completes the top 10 overall and leads WRC2 by 8.3 seconds from Nikolay Gryazin following a close day-long fight between the pair. Gryazin moved back into the category lead on the second pass of Isegami’s Tunnel, but Cachón responded on the final stage to regain the advantage heading into Saturday.
Saturday brings the longest leg of FORUM8 Rally Japan, with two passes of Obara, Ena and Mt. Kasagi making up 120.22 competitive kilometres.