E. Evans started the longest rally section with a 15.7-second lead over O. Solberg, but the Swede pressured him all morning and by midday had reduced the gap to 10.6 seconds.
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Live results of the special stages
Solberg crashed
However, O. Solberg’s fight for P1 ended on SS10, the first afternoon special stage on Kasagi Hill, when he slipped in a left corner and hit a tree with the right rear of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
Oliver’s retirement from the stage elevated Sébastien Ogier to second place, and Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta completed the Toyota team’s quartet after Saturday’s 120.22 competitive kilometers.
E. Evans admitted he lost some time on the 10th special stage while avoiding Solberg’s crashed car, but the Welshman remained calm.
On the second Ena stage, he responded well, being 3.1 seconds faster than Ogier, later winning another special stage and regaining his 20-second lead.
His last special stage was not without drama. Evans made a mistake, came close to the Armco barrier, but avoided impact.
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With an impressive afternoon performance, Pajari strengthened his position in third place. The Finn won both runs of the Fujioka stage and was the fastest, finishing the day 44.4 seconds behind Evans and 26.9 seconds behind Katsuta.
Katsuta also enjoyed a much stronger Saturday after a disappointing first day. In the morning, the Japanese driver overtook Thierry Neuville and in the afternoon continued to close in on Pajari, although he admitted that fighting for the podium would require additional risk.
Adrien Fourmaux finished the day fifth, leading the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, 2 minutes 5.2 seconds behind the leader. Teammate Neuville dropped to sixth place after struggling all day with car balance and intermittent handbrake issues.
The final Sunday stage will consist of six special stages, including two passes each of Nukata and Lake Mikawa, the latter being the rally-closing “Wolf Power Stage”.
Standings after Saturday (SS14/20):
1. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2h 32m 05.6s
2. S Ogier / V Landais FRA Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +17.8s
3. S Pajari / M Salminen FIN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +44.4s
4. T Katsuta / A Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +1m 11.3s
5. A Fourmaux / A Coria FRA Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +2m 05.2s
6. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +2m 17.0s.
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