Sébastien Ogier stormed to victory on FORUM8 Rally Japan on Sunday to ignite a three-way fight for the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship title heading into the Saudi Arabian finale.
The eight-time world champion fended off Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate and points leader Elfyn Evans through a rain-soaked final leg, winning by 11.6sec to close the gap to three points. Kalle Rovanperä's sixth-place finish leaves him 24 points off the lead, ensuring all three Toyota drivers remain in contention while Ott Tänak's faint hopes are now over.
Persistent rain lashed the final six stages around Aichi and Gifu, turning the asphalt roads into rivers of standing water. Evans began the day 6.5sec adrift and initially looked poised to strike back, edging the Frenchman by 0.8sec through the opening Nukata test before Ogier reasserted control on the following stage at Lake Mikawako.
Behind them, the drama continued. Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux, running third overnight, slid off the road and into trees, ripping a door from his i20 N Rally1 and retiring soon afterwards. His demise promoted Sami Pajari into a career-first podium position - a result that capped a breakout year for the 23-year-old Finn and sealed a dream 1-2-3 for Toyota at home.
Evans remained on Ogier's tail but a wild moment on the first of two Okazaki super specials - sliding down a grass bank before rejoining - dented his rhythm. Ogier stayed clean to stretch his margin to 8.3sec before extending it further on the final two stages to ensure a decisive victory.
"It's obviously a perfect result," Ogier said. "It's been a challenging weekend because after this rain today, nothing was certain. It was like the start of a new rally this morning, but big set-up change this morning in the car very quickly felt good, so well done, team - it's amazing to count on that.
"Now, let's go to the next one. This was a perfect weekend for us to come back so close [to Evans], and let's hope the last one is not a lottery."
Pajari's measured drive secured third ahead of Tänak, who endured a puncture in the morning rain but managed to win SS15 in his Hyundai. M-Sport Ford's Grégoire Munster took a career best-equalling fifth overall, with Rovanperä climbing to sixth after losing several minutes to suspension damage on Friday.
Oliver Solberg placed seventh in his Rally2-specification Toyota GR Yaris, while Alejandro Cachón took the WRC2 category spoils from Nikolay Gryazin. Jan Solans completed the top ten, dropping behind Gryazin after a spin on the penultimate stage.
There were also celebrations for Italian youngster Matteo Fontana in his Ford Fiesta Rally3 who finished second in the WRC3 category, which was good enough to earn him the overall 2025 WRC3 title.
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY JAPAN
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 3h21m08.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +11.6s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m16.6s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m18.1s
5 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +6m48.7s
6 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +7m01.5s
7 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +9m35.5s
8 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +10m41.6s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11m36.2s
10 Jan Solans/Rodrigo Sanjuan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +12m26.0s
(Results as of 15:30 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 13:
1 Elfyn Evans 272 points
2 Sébastien Ogier 269
3 Kalle Rovanperä 248
4 Ott Tänak 213
5 Thierry Neuville 166
6 Takamoto Katsuta 111
7 Adrien Fourmaux 96
8 Sami Pajari 94
9 Oliver Solberg 70
10 Grégoire Munster 36 ...
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 13:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 692 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 464
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 191
4 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 145
What's next?
Rally Saudi Arabia, a brand-new gravel event, joins the WRC as the final round of the season on November 26-29. The event will be based in Jeddah and take in a mix of mountain, volcano and desert terrain.
