BY FRANK KAHEESI& HENRY MBAZIIRA-FMU Media/USPA
WELSHMAN Elfyn Evans, stands on the verge of a maiden FIA World Rally Championship crown as the world series gets underway in Asia for the weekend’s FORUM8 Rally Japan running from 06 – 09 November,2025.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing’s home event and the penultimate round of the 2025 season,is set to drop jaws as drivers fight for crucial individual title points score.
Fresh from Toyota clinching the manufacturers’ title at Central European Rally, all eyes now turn to the intra-team battle for drivers’ honours.
Evans leads team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä by 13 points apiece and can, in theory, wrap up the championship this weekend if he outscores both by 23 points.
It’s a tall order, but Japan’s twisting asphalt stages have a reputation for punishing even the smallest lapse in concentration – and that unpredictability keeps Evans firmly in contention.
Photo credit: Rally Japan
The Welshman is chasing both a personal milestone and another home triumph for Toyota, which has dominated the season with four cars consistently inside the top five.
Sebastien Ogier;
Amazing atmosphere in Toyota City to a off the rally tonight!
We’re looking forward to the weekend, knowing we’ll have great support from the fans here. We’ll do our best to put as many Toyota cars as possible on the podium. And for us, the plan is clear: we’re here for the win.
Joanne Halttunen co-driver to two time World Champion Kalle Rovanpera, intimated on his Twitter handle;
“Busy but nice first day of Rally Japan.”
We already completed shakedown and first stage in which we posted fastest time by the smallest margin.
Happy for now, let’s see what tomorrow brings with 6 stages and iconic isegami’s tunnel.
Ogier and Rovanperä, who has triumphed on the past two asphalt rounds, will both be eager to extend the fight to the season finale in Saudi Arabia later this month.
Local hero, Takamoto Katsuta is another to watch. A podium finisher on home soil in 2022, the Toyota driver knows the character of Aichi and Gifu’s mountain roads better than most and will be desperate to deliver in front of passionate Japanese fans.
Hyundai Motorsport, meanwhile, is intent on ending the campaign strongly.
Ott Tänak remains fourth overall and still mathematically in the fight for the drivers’ title, while outgoing champion Thierry Neuville will be chasing redemption after a challenging run of form since Chile.
Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux drives the team’s third i20 N Rally1 car while Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean line up in Puma Rally1s for M-Sport Ford.
FORUM8 Rally Japan features 20 asphalt stages covering more than 300km.
Action got underway Thursday afternoon with the Kuragaike Park super special, before Friday’s opening loop of classic Japanese Tarmac tests sets the tone for what could be a decisive weekend in the 2025 title race.
Pompous ceremonial start
Kalle Rovanperä gets his Rally Japan campaign off well to a perfect start by topping Thursday afternoon’s curtain-raising Kuragaike Park stage.
The Finn clocked 2min 07.5sec through the 2.75km asphalt blast to edge Hyundai’s Ott Tänak by a mere tenth of a second, while home favourite Takamoto Katsuta delighted local fans in third, just 0.3sec adrift.
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