Elfyn Evans reckons it was “important” to secure victory in Rally Japan, but has admitted it’s difficult to predict how crucial it will be in his quest for a maiden World Rally Championship title.
The Toyota driver delivered a faultless blend of speed and perfect management this weekend to claim the final asphalt event of the season from reigning champion Sebastien Ogier.
A second win of 2026 has moved the Welshman into a 20-point lead over Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta with seven rounds remaining as the season is at its halfway mark.
Evans is also well aware of how critical maximising any advantage that comes his way could be, having finished as the title runner-up on five of the past six occasions.
Last season the 37-year-old headed to Japan, which then hosted the penultimate round, as the championship leader, but could not make his road position count after narrowly losing to Ogier. This year Evans maximised his road position to claim the victory and a bonus three Sunday points.
But with seven gravel rallies scheduled to end the season, that could leave Evans disadvantaged as road sweeper, meaning making the most of his road position in Japan could prove to be a defining factor in the title race.
When asked how crucial this win could be in the context of the championship, Evans said: “I don’t know. We have to wait and see. It might mean nothing, but on that topic, I’m probably a bit disappointed with today not to take a few more points [from Super Sunday and the Power Stage].
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
“But at the same time the pace was pretty hot, and I guess I wasn’t willing to risk enough to grab the last few points. But I feel like it was anyway an important position we were in, and it was important to secure this win.
“It was [important] for many reasons in the end. It is Toyota’s home rally and I probably wouldn’t be a very popular man if I stuck it off into the ditch on Sunday.
“I didn’t think too much about the championship, of course we want to go for Sunday points and Power Stage points but you only have to slow down a few times for tricky places and you go from fighting for stage wins to being fifth or sixth. That is the reality of the sport we are in at the moment.
“I didn’t go perhaps all in as I really should have done, but I felt like I had to secure this win rightly or wrongly. In the end, I think it was the right thing to do.”
Up next is Greece in June and Evans hopes to learn from last year, where he opened the road for 10 of 14 events during his unsuccessful title showdown against Ogier.
“I’m looking forward, but of course we’re under no illusions, it’s going to probably be tough in Greece, but we have some experience of that now, so we have to try and lean on that and do the best we can from it,” Evans added.
“There is still a very long way to go so I’m not really thinking too much about it. I said last year that I’m going to fully accept it is possible to be dropping down the championship order at the next few rounds.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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