Tanak Controls Rally Japan as Neuville Edges Closer to First WRC Title
Ott Tanak strengthened his Rally Japan lead while Thierry Neuville moved closer to securing his first FIA World Rally Championship title during Saturday's action.
Hyundai Mobis rally car in Japan
Neuville, who has finished runner-up five times in his career, climbed from 15th to seventh place overall, earning four crucial points. The Belgian driver now needs just two more points on Sunday to clinch his first championship title, which would also mark Belgium's first WRC drivers' crown.
Tanak extended his overall lead to 38.0s over Toyota's Elfyn Evans, helping Hyundai maintain an 11-point advantage over Toyota in the manufacturers' championship heading into the final day.
Eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier showed strong recovery, claiming two stage wins and moving up to third place overall, while M-Sport Ford's Adrien Fourmaux holds fourth position, narrowly leading local favorite Takamoto Katsuta by 6.1 seconds.
In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin leads by 1m25.3s, but second-placed Sami Pajari is positioned to secure the WRC2 title if he maintains his position through Sunday's stages.
Sunday's final leg consists of five asphalt stages totaling 43.85 competitive miles, including the bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage at Lake Mikawako.
Current Standings after Leg Two, SS16:
- Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai) 39m48.0s
- Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota) +38.0s
- Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota) +2m10.9s
- Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford) +2m19.1s
- Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota) +2m52.2s
- Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford) +3m07.1s
- Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai) +7m43.7s
- Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen - WRC2) +7m55.9s
- Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota - WRC2) +9m21.2s
- Hiroki Arai/Shunsuke Matsuo (Skoda - WRC2) +10m12.6s
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