Overview
- Elfyn Evans trimmed Sébastien Ogier’s advantage to 1.4 seconds by winning SS10 and SS11, the latter marking his 200th career WRC stage win.
- Takamoto Katsuta struck water barriers on the second run of Mt. Kasagi, lost power steering, and fell from the podium fight to seventh.
- Adrien Fourmaux vaulted to third after winning SS8 and SS9, with Toyota’s Sami Pajari holding fourth and Hyundai’s Ott Tänak fifth ahead of M‑Sport’s Grégoire Munster.
- Kalle Rovanperä continued a recovery to ninth following Friday’s SS3 suspension damage that cost him minutes and dented his title bid.
- Thierry Neuville retired on Saturday with a driveshaft failure after earlier drivetrain issues, capping a difficult weekend for Hyundai on Japan’s narrow asphalt.