It’s party time for Toyota in their home rally, with the Japanese manufacturer greeting its public by achieving a poker, with four of its drivers in the top four positions of the general classification. For the second time this championship, Elfyn Evans climbed to the top step of the podium, followed by Sébastien Ogier and Sami Pajari. Satisfaction also for Oliver Solberg, who leaves Japan with the maximum extra points available thanks to his victory in the Super Sunday, in a very positive rally also for Italian colors: thanks to Nikolaj Gryazin’s success, Lancia indeed secured the victory in WRC2.
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Super Sunday Report
As in the previous days of the Rally Japan, Toyota literally dominated all stages. After the error committed in the tenth stage, which effectively excluded him from the fight for victory, Oliver Solberg restarted with the best time in the first Super Sunday stage, repeating it also in SS19, the penultimate stage of Day 3, and in the subsequent Power Stage. All performances that rewarded the Swede as the winner of the Super Sunday, thus earning 5 points and entering the trio of drivers with at least 100 points in the general classification. In between, two other signatures from the Japanese manufacturer finished ahead of everyone: home idol Takamoto Katsuta, author of the best time in SS16, and Sébastien Ogier, who recovered on classification leader Elfyn Evans, moving to within 13 seconds of the Welshman, who in turn was fully managing his advantage. Not by chance, the world leader did not push excessively in the Power Stage, securing his second victory this season after the Rally Sweden and avoiding any kind of error or risk, as happened instead in the last stages to those who were occupying the leadership of the classification and who lost the chance to win the rally due to accidents or breakdowns.
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Rally Japan 2026, the final classification (top-10)
| POS. | DRIVER | CAR | TIME/GAP |
| 1 | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 3:17:08.0 |
| 2 | Sébastien Ogier | Toyota | +12.8 |
| 3 | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +51.4 |
| 4 | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:03.5 |
| 5 | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +2:34.8 |
| 6 | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +3:13.6 |
| 7 | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | +4:44.8 |
| 8 | Jon Armstrong | Ford | +5:45.2 |
| 9 | Nikolaj Gryazin | Lancia (WRC2) | +9:21.3 |
| 10 | Joshua McErlean | Ford | +9:23.0 |
Next event
Rally Japan was the last round of this season to be held on completely asphalted tracks. From now on, that is, in the second half of the championship, drivers will return to face gravel roads, starting with the next event on the calendar, scheduled in just under a month in Greece, more precisely from June 25 to 28.
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