Rally Japan: Day 4
Dream 1-2-3 finish at home for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has scored a dream 1-2-3 finish on home roads at Rally Japan to complete a season of success in style, Elfyn Evans claiming victory ahead of Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä.
The victory for Evans and co-driver Scott Martin is their third of the season and the ninth from 13 rallies this year for TGR-WRT, which had already sealed the manufacturers’ title on round 11 in Chile before Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen secured their second drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles on the penultimate event, the Central European Rally.
This was the WRC’s second visit to the technical and demanding asphalt roads in the mountains of the Aichi and Gifu prefectures around Toyota City. Heavy rain added significantly to the challenge for the first full day of stages on Friday, and this was where Evans built the foundations of his victory.