Evans Leads Toyota 1-2-3 in Rally Japan Shakedown Stage

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY ONE OF RALLY JAPAN – THE 13TH ROUND OF THE WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP  COMPLETE SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW  SHOWS: JAPAN (NOVEMBER 6, 2025) (WRC PROMOTER GMBH – See restrictions) STORY: World Rally Championship (WRC) leader Elfyn Evans topped the shakedown stage at Rally Japan on Thursday (November 6), leading a Toyota 1-2-3 ahead of this week's penultimate round of the season. Evans, who holds a 13-point lead in the championship standings, set the fastest time of two minutes 13.8 seconds on the 1.75-mile Kuragaike Park stage. His time remained unbeaten throughout the session. The Welshman has won the last two editions of Rally Japan and has consistently finished on the podium in the last eight WRC events on Tarmac. Home favourite Takamoto Katsuta was closest to Evans, finishing 0.6 seconds behind. Meanwhile, championship contenders Kalle Rovanpera and Sebastien Ogier, tied on 234 points, are competing closely with Ogier holding the advantage due to more wins this season. Rovanpera edged Ogier by 0.3 seconds in the shakedown, with Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux splitting the pair, finishing a tenth ahead of Ogier. Toyota's Sami Pajari ranked sixth, just 0.1 seconds shy of Ogier, while Ott Tanak followed closely another tenth behind. Tanak, despite retaining a mathematical chance for the title, has downplayed his prospects. Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, the outgoing world champion, was 0.7 seconds slower than Tanak, finishing eighth in the session and expressing uncertainty about the weekend's outcome. (Production: Suramya Kaushik)

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