Classification ES9 Rally Japan 2024

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HIGHLIGHTS

Author of the best time during the first pass, Takamoto Katsuta does it again by signing the scratch in a perfect tie with Adrien Fourmaux and Elfyn Evans!

Solid leader this evening, Ott Tänak only loses a tenth on this trio and maintains a comfortable lead. For his part, Thierry Neuville has finished his ordeal and is almost eight minutes from the lead. The Belgian remains in a favorable situation for the title and can even still aim for a few points tomorrow evening. The Hyundai driver could nevertheless be forced to take risks on Sunday.

For provisional third place, three men are currently fighting with Adrien Fourmaux, Takamoto KAtsuta and Sébastien Ogier.

7th overall, Nikolay Gryazin is untouchable in WRC2, while Sami Pajari, currently 2nd, manages this race perfectly and finds himself in a position to win the world title.

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PILOT REACTIONS

T. Neuville 2:16.3	It was really difficult. I don't see any positive points to take away from this day. When the car was running, the feeling was good, and that's the only positive point.
O. Thank you 2:02.0	Tomorrow there are two stages that we know, one is new. I look forward to the challenge ahead of us.
E.Evans 2:01.9	I'm naturally a little disappointed with the afternoon, there was potential to do a little better than that. I hope we will be a little more consistent tomorrow. It's a very demanding day tomorrow and we'll see what the weather has in store for us.
S. Ogier 2:02.2	Fifth is not enough, it's another disappointing day for us. We continue to attack for our team. A lot happened today, we don't know what will happen tomorrow. The driving is good, the sensations are good, but it's obviously not what we wanted to fight for. Taka is not my goal, Tänak would have been but he is too far away.
A.Fourmaux 2:01.9	I'll be in a better position on the road tomorrow, we'll see. The target is set for tomorrow afternoon. We want the car to work, so we're going to attack.
T.Katsuta 2:01.9	We hit the inside of a cone, one corner was completely wet. I'll try to ride well tomorrow.
G.Munster 2:04.1	It's quite fun in the dark, the atmosphere is nice for the fans. It's difficult to say how we progressed because we didn't always have a good feeling with the car, but we tried different things and it's positive for tomorrow, it's going in the right direction.
S. Pajari	It's a tough day, I would say. The morning wasn't what I hoped for, but we recovered well after the puncture. Otherwise, the pacing has been pretty solid. We're just trying to keep things the way they are.
N.Gryazin	The car helps me, as I told the CER, I do what it asks me to do and we work together. We also have the experience for the future. Tomorrow is a new day, we will see what the weather has in store for us tomorrow. For now, the sky is cloudy, in the mountains where it is cloudy, there could be a few drops, I hope.
C.Ingram	It's absolutely incredible, I've never experienced such an atmosphere. The people are amazing, it's probably the best rally I've ever done. He exceeded all my expectations, challenged us. We learned a lot and we hope to pick up the pace for tomorrow.