Classification SS15 Rally Japan 2024

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HIGHLIGHTS

At the end of the day, only three drivers were really attacking with Thierry Neuville, Adrien Fourmaux and Takamo Katsuta. The first named achieved his objective by taking seventh place overall ahead of all the Rally2s. If he finishes tomorrow, the Belgian could score four points thanks to this first part of the rally.

In a fight from the start, Adrien Fourmaux did the hardest against Takamoto Katsuta in this battle for fourth place.

For his part, Ott Tänak did the job and should win this first part of the rally ahead of Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier.

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PILOT REACTIONS

T. Neuville 16:06.5	We had to try. After yesterday's huge disappointment, the objective was to get back into the points. I struggled all afternoon with the brakes and understeer. We have to see what position we will be in tonight.
G.Munster 16:15.0	It's quite dry, even the hard tires overheat. It gets really complicated towards the end. Maybe we can change the settings to make it less complicated, but I think that will be the case for everyone. I think with Friday in Chile on gravel, it's the best day we've had on asphalt. We're still not as fast as the others, but we need to check the split times and see how we can improve.
S. Ogier 16:06.4	Another clean special in good conditions. Adhesion is constant. Many turns are very slow. After a disastrous start to the rally, the podium is the only thing we can get back. It looks like the battle could continue until the last day of the season, it looks like Neuville has the advantage, but you never know.
T.Katsuta 16:12.9	It's a problem when you don't attack too much. In some sections it feels nice and smooth, in others it's bumpy and you lose time. It's sad to hear that we're not on pace.
A.Fourmaux 16:07.7	What a special! Have a good day today, I'm pretty happy with what we did. We lost a position, well done to Ogier. We kept the pressure on Taka, improved our pace, hopefully the car will work tomorrow. Small change, but it helped me. I changed the balance of the car.
E.Evans 16:21.9	It's still not a good stage, it's not how it should be, so there's work to do tonight. We've tried but the times just don't come. I have the same feeling as this morning, but we have to find out why the times are not there.
O. Thank you 16:09.7	It's a tricky stage that we didn't do the first time. Not all scores were perfect. This morning Evans was really good, but with the hard tires we are doing well, so we must be happy. The pressure has always been there. We just have to attack. The objective is very clear.
N.Gryazin	Just a little problem mid-special. I have a good margin so I slowed down. Everything is fine.
S. Pajari	If we are faster than Gryazin, I think it was good enough. I must say he was very strong this weekend. Toyota Stadium will be nice with lots of spectators.