Sebastien Ogier pinpointed a poor road start and the extreme heat‑softened hard tarmac tyre as the twin reasons he could not overtake Rally Japan champion Elfyn Evans.
Road‑position disadvantage cost precious seconds
Starting sixth, Ogier immediately fell behind on the dirtying stages, losing 16.7 seconds to Evans on the first pass through Isegami’s Tunnel on Friday. He blamed the early deficit entirely on the disadvantage of a later road slot.
Hard tyre struggled in Japan’s blistering conditions
Although the Frenchman has previously won on Hankook’s hard compound in the Canary Islands, the combination of soaring temperatures and the twisty, technical Japanese routes prevented the tyre from delivering a consistent grip level. “The heat amplified the issue and the constant corner‑to‑corner effort wore the tyres down,” Ogier told Motorsport.com, adding that every competitor used the same rubber but his driving style could not extract the usual performance.
He confirmed the team tried multiple set‑up adjustments, yet the hard tyre simply did not suit his approach in the extreme heat, limiting his pace on asphalt. “I knew early on these tyres wouldn’t be ideal for me, but the temperature made it even harder to manage,” he said.
Ogier nevertheless considered his overall rally not a failure, attributing the result largely to the opening stage loss rather than a lack of effort. “Elfyn was strong and deserved the win. We can’t blame ourselves too much; it wasn’t a bad performance, just not up to our usual tarmac standards.”
With Japan marking the final asphalt event of the season, Ogier and his Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew will now shift focus toward upcoming surfaces where tyre selection may better align with their strengths.
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