It is the fourth consecutive win for the GR YARIS Rally1 car from five editions of the rally held in Toyota City, in what is due to be the final time the current specification of Rally1 cars compete on Japanese roads before new regulations are introduced in 2027.
This year, with a move forward from November to late May, the event was held in warmer temperatures which exceeded 30 degrees centigrade and provided a different challenge for the crews, their cars and their tyres.
On the narrow and twisting forest-covered roads in the mountains of the Aichi and Gifu prefectures, Evans excelled once again, especially in Friday’s infamous Isegami’s Tunnel stage where he made the most of his position at the front of the road order to build an early lead.
Pursued over the following days by their team-mates, Evans and co-driver Scott Martin managed the rally expertly on their way to securing victory. As well as his 13th win, the result is Evans’ 50th career WRC podium and increases his championship lead to 20 points at the midway point of the season.
Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais, who won Rally Japan in 2025, had to settle for second place this time around, finishing 12.8s behind Evans and Martin after a typically battling performance.
Rising young star Pajari and his co-driver Marko Salminen scored their fifth podium finish in the last six rallies, and their sixth top-three finish since achieving their first at last year’s Rally Japan just six months ago.
Katsuta received a hero’s welcome home from the passionate Japanese rally fans after taking his first WRC victories in Kenya and Croatia earlier this year. He lost some ground when he sustained tyre damage on Friday morning but recovered well alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston, taking a stage win on the final day and finishing second in the Power Stage and the Super Sunday classification.
On his first Rally Japan at the wheel of Rally1 machinery, Oliver Solberg was also in the fight for victory until he slid wide in a muddy corner on Saturday afternoon and damaged his rear suspension. Restarting on the final day, he won three of the six stages including the rally-ending Power Stage as well as the Super Sunday classification.
With the Power Stage win, the GR YARIS Rally1 has now achieved 50 consecutive stage wins on asphalt across its last three WRC rallies on the surface. It also means TGR-WRT increases its manufacturers’ championship lead to 127 points.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto secured his goal on his home event of a maiden podium finish in the WRC2 category after a strong and well-managed drive at the wheel of his GR Yaris Rally2 car, guided by co-driver James Fulton. Fellow GR Yaris Rally2 driver Alejandro Cachón was involved in a thrilling battle to repeat his 2025 WRC2 victory throughout the weekend, ultimately finishing a close second.
Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (TGR-WRT Chairman)
“Elfyn, Scott, congratulations on your third Rally Japan victory! You were incredibly fast on the autumn roads we drove on until last year, and you were just as fast on the fresh green roads this time. You were also the fastest when we drove here together after Rally Japan a few years ago. I think Japan’s roads simply suit you very well.
And you are the only driver who has won so many times right in front of my eyes. I think that means you and me make a great combination as well. If there is an important rally coming up, please make sure to invite me. I’d like to start discussing the schedule with my secretary right away!
Thanks also to Seb and Vincent and to Sami and Marko, the team secured a fantastic podium sweep. This time, you also brought our new President and CEO, Kenta Kon, onto the podium with you. Although he jokingly describes himself as someone who “loves money” because of his accounting background, he is actually a true car enthusiast who even competes in small local rallies as a driver. He was very grateful to Elfyn, Scott and everyone in the team for giving him his first-ever podium experience.
For Oliver and Takamoto, however, it was a frustrating rally. In particular, Oliver seemed to be at his lowest point when I visited the service park. I saw Jari-Matti and Juha encouraging him, and even Seb came over to offer advice and give him a pat on the shoulder. It was a wonderful moment that reminded me once again of the strength of this team.
In previous years, Rally Japan marked the end of the season and a chance to catch our breath. But things are different now. We are only at the halfway point of the season, and from here on, the calendar is filled with demanding gravel rallies. To everyone on the team, thank you for your hard work so far—and please keep pushing. We still have a long and challenging gravel road ahead!”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“This is another fantastic result for our team here at Rally Japan. To score our fourth consecutive victory at home here in Toyota City, as well as our third podium lockout in four years is something we can all be very proud of. Elfyn really seems to be the master of this event, with the technical roads and changing conditions, and was really in control here again from the start to the finish. Seb and Sami also drove really well to finish on the podium here once more. Taka recovered very strongly from a difficult start to the rally and Oliver too achieved what he set out to do today by taking all 10 points from Sunday. We are also very happy to see Yuki achieve his first podium in WRC2 on his home event after a very strong drive. So it’s been another really successful Rally Japan for us – thank you to everyone in the team for the incredible work they’ve been doing – and it’s also been amazing to see all the support and passion for the rally here this weekend.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s a great feeling to be able to win Rally Japan again and be part of another very good result here for our team. I have to say a huge thanks to everyone in the team for giving us such an amazing car again, and thank you to Morizo-san: I’m very happy to secure this win as a token of appreciation for his support. It’s been a tight and fun battle all the way through with some pressure from our team-mates. We were able to make a good start to the rallly and take advantage of our position to make some good times on Friday and then we managed to maintain that until the end. It’s been an enjoyable last dance with these cars on asphalt and I’m really happy to end it with a win.”
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 1)
“A 1-2-3-4 is another great result for the team at Rally Japan. Well done to Elfyn and Scott on their very strong weekend and a deserved victory. On my side, I came here like always with the aim to win, so I can’t be fully satisfied with second place, but it’s hardly a bad result either. I think we did a decent job this weekend and fought as much as we could, even though we never quite had the perfect feeling with the whole package this time. But I’m happy to help secure another strong result for the team and for Morizo-san; thank you for all of the support you are always giving us.”
Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99)
“It’s been a great experience to be here at Rally Japan as a Rally1 driver for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for the first time and to feel so much passion and support from the fans. We had a fantastic feeling in the car and a great performance. We tried our best but unfortunately just got caught out yesterday in some slippery conditions I wasn’t expecting. That was very disappointing, but I felt very good in the car again on the final day. We didn’t have the perfect run through the Power Stage which was hard for the tyres, but I’m happy that we could at least take the maximum points today like we set out to do this morning.”
Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It’s great that we could achieve a 1-2-3-4 finish for the team in Japan. I’m not satisfied with my personal result but it was nice that we could come back stronger. Today I felt good to push more and we had quite good pace and could take quite a lot of points at the end. A huge thank you to everyone in the team and for preparing this car, which feels incredible on asphalt. And a special thank you to all of the Japanese fans who have been supporting us. I’m sorry that I could not finish on the podium this time, but next year I will try again to get the victory for you!”
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It’s a good feeling and it’s nice to be back on the podium again. If it wasn’t for what happened in Portugal, we could have a very nice streak going right now! Friday was not the best start for us but since then we have had great pace and several stage wins, so overall it was very positive. It’s a pity that it’s the last rally we do on asphalt with this car because I was absolutely loving it. It’s another great result for the team which is really nice to see. A big thank you to everyone, let’s keep pushing.”
Yuki Yamamoto (Driver WRC Challenge Program GEN2)
“To achieve my first podium in WRC2 here on my home event at Rally Japan is really special. A huge thank you to the team and all the Japanese fans who have been cheering for us all weekend; it really gave me extra energy and I’m just so happy right now. To be on the podium was my target for this rally. It started with tricky conditions on Friday morning so we lost a little bit of time there, but after that we were able to come back strongly with really good and consistent pace, and even once I had a good gap behind, I was able to stay focused and not think about the result too much and just concentrate on the next stage. My confidence is higher now for the coming events and I hope to achieve something similar to this or even better in the near future.”
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY JAPAN
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 3h17m08.0s
2 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +12.8s
3 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +51.4s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m03.5s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m34.8s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m13.6s
7 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +4m44.8s
8 Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m45.2s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) +9m21.3s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +9m23.0s ...
21 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +49m43.6s ...
(Results as of 19:00 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
WRC2 class
1 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) 3h26m29.3s
2 Alejandro Cachón/Borja Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +18.3s
3 Yuki Yamamoto/James Fulton (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2m54.4s
4 Emil Lindholm/Gabriel Morales (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3m50.3s
5 Hiroki Arai/Hiroki Tachikui (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7m37.6s
6 Norihiko Katsuta/Takahiro Yasui (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +14m12.1s
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 7:
1 Elfyn Evans 151 points
2 Takamoto Katsuta 131
3 Oliver Solberg 102
4 Sami Pajari 96
5 Sébastien Ogier 90
6 Adrien Fourmaux 89
7 Thierry Neuville 73
8 Hayden Paddon 21
9 Esapekka Lappi 21
10 Yohan Rossel 20 ...
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 7:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 370 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 243
3 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT2 106
4 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 85
What's next?
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