The WRC title battles are hanging in the balance after a dramatic Friday morning
Thierry Neuville’s World Rally Championship title hopes took a knock after suffering a power issue while Toyota’s Elfyn Evans moved into the Rally Japan lead. Championship leader Neuville won the day’s opening test and was sitting in second before a sudden loss of power hampered the Belgian, who only needs to score six points this weekend to secure a maiden world title. Evans shot from third to the rally lead on stage three taking a 0.
Such was the nature of the twisting roads that WRC2 runners Gryazin and Pajari were able to post the fourth and fifth fastest times respectively to move to fifth and sixth overall. Overnight leader Fourmaux struggled to find grip in the slippery conditions, costing the Frenchman 46.9s as the M-Sport driver slid to fourth overall. There was also a drama for Hyundai’s Mikkelsen as he was caught out by the leaves and mud on the road and went straight on at a left-hander.
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