Carnage in Japan

Elfyn Evans led FORUM8 Rally Japan by 1min overnight after extreme conditions in Friday’s opening leg caught out several of his FIA World Rally Championship peers. Torrential rainfall, thick fog and roads covered with damp leaves were just some of the challenges faced by crews on the first full day of action at the 2023 season finale. Survival was the aim of the game and, while several of his rivals faltered, Evans barely put a wheel wrong. A minor overshoot in the second stage of the day did not prevent the Welshman from reaching the lunchtime service halt with 26 seconds in hand over Thierry Neuville, his main competition for the runner-up spot in this year’s drivers’ championship. Neuville, winner of the 2022 event, responded in the afternoon by slicing Evans’ advantage by more than half with a blistering run through Isegami’s Tunnel 2. But his comeback was cut short when he crashed his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 into a tree on the first corner of the following test. The Belgian wasn’t the on