DOLGELLAU’S Elfyn Evans is targeting a third Rally Japan victory in a row as his quest to clinch a first FIA World Rally Championship title continues.

His Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team arrives on home roads for Rally Japan on November 6-9 looking to celebrate its manufacturers’ title success in style while its drivers’ continue their thrilling championship fight.

The team secured the manufacturers’ crown for the fifth successive year at the previous round, the Central European Rally, which also set up an exciting showdown for the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles over the two remaining rallies in Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Evans, targeting his first drivers’ championship, has a lead of 13 points over two of his team-mates – eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier and two-time winner Kalle Rovanperä – who are tied on points following the latter’s win on the asphalt roads of Central Europe.

Evans has won the last two editions of Rally Japan, leading a TGR-WRT 1-2-3 ahead of Ogier and Rovanperä in 2023 before Ogier once more joined him on the podium in a one-two finish one year ago.

He said: “Rally Japan is always a big week as the home event for TGR and there’s a very special atmosphere.

“It’s not an easy rally with very demanding and twisty stages, and in the last few years we’ve seen some quite difficult conditions at times.“Even when it’s dry, there’s very little margin for error and it’s easy to make a small but costly mistake.

“The first key is to get through without issue, and then it’s about having a good feeling with the car and maintaining concentration for all those corners.

“We’ve had some good runs there in the past and we’ll be aiming as high as we can again to try and secure a good result for the team at home and for ourselves for the championship.”

Since returning to the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in 2022, Rally Japan has been held on mainly narrow and twisting asphalt roads in the forest-covered mountains of the Aichi and Gifu prefectures, around the city of Nagoya. The Toyota Stadium once more hosts the service park.

Shakedown and the opening competitive stage take place on Thursday at Kuragaike Park. Friday features a loop of three familiar stages to the east – Inabu/Shitara, Shinshiro and Isegami’s Tunnel – that will each be repeated following mid-day service. Saturday takes crews north-east for the new Obara stage plus more familiar Ena and Mt Kasagi tests, all of which will be repeated in reverse order after a tyre-fitting zone at Enakyo Park. A new super special stage in Toyota City rounds out the day.

Sunday’s final leg takes place towards the south-east near Okazaki, which hosts two passes of a super special and a tyre-fitting zone. These separate two runs over the Nukata and Lake Mikawako stages.

Deputy Team Principa Juha Kankkunen said: “Elfyn has been doing a great job and has won Rally Japan the last two years, but we also know that Seb will be very motivated to bounce back after Central Europe and that Kalle is looking very quick on asphalt at the moment. I think it’s a rally that any of them could win and it’s going to be exciting for everyone to follow.”