The result means his theoretical, if very faint, chances of a second WRC drivers' title are now over, with one race left in the season.

Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier won the race, heading a Toyota 1-2-3 finish before a home crowd, even as the Japanese team already clinched the manufacturers' title at the previous race.

Elfyn Evans was second for Toyota, setting up a thrilling title showdown in the season finale in Saudi Arabia with just three points separating the two after Ogier took the maximum possible 35 points, while Finn Sami Pajari was third.

Before the race

 Due to a quirk in the rules, Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja are racing the final stages of the 2025 season solely for themselves. None of the points they accrue will be added to Hyundai's total, since the manufacturer's title has already been claimed by Toyota. This unique situation allows the Estonians to make engine changes that would otherwise have incurred a penalty.

"Japan is one of the slowest asphalt rallies on the calendar. We've always had to deal with unpredictable weather there, which makes it a challenging event. You don't need to overdo the setup — precision and adapting to low grip are key," Tänak said pre-race of the course on the northern island of Hokkaido.

No other Estonians competed in Japan.

Thursday: Shakedown and stage one results

In the shakedown held late Wednesday night Estonian time, Toyota drivers were, as expected, dominant, taking the top four places.

Seven hours later, the first official stage was held on the same route. Rovanperä set the fastest time at 2:07.5, but Tänak was just 0.1 seconds slower in second place.

Friday

Toyota remained dominant on day two, with no other manufacturer claiming a stage win: Ogier won three stages, Evans two, and one was taken by Takamoto Katsuta, cheered on by a home crowd.

Rovanperä lost significant time about halfway through Friday's stage three and had to limp to the finish due to suspension issues, while Irishman Josh McErlean (M-Sport) left the road, severely damaging the car, but fortunately, both driver and co-driver escaped unharmed.

Ogier remained the overall leader at the end of the day.

Having lost nearly a minute to the leaders in the first three stages of the day, Tänak finished Friday in sixth place (+1:12.3). "Overall, it was a modest day, not very fast. No surprises, everything is okay so far," the Estonian said.

Saturday

Hyundai had a welcome surprise at the first two stages of the penultimate day, as Adrien Fourmaux won them both, but it was a bittersweet affair even then as Neuville's driveshaft became damaged en route to the start line, and the reigning world champion, who had had to concede the 2025 title a race ago, had to retire from the rally altogether.

Evans showed his strength again before lunch, beating his rivals by more than two seconds on the third stage of the day, the Welshman hungry for his maiden title, while race leader Ogier had a more cautious start to the day.

Right after the lunch break, misfortune struck local hero Katsuta when he lost power steering due to a driving error and lost significant time. Although the Japanese still managed to drag his car over the finish line after a strong Saturday, he lost more than four minutes and dropped out of contention.

Evans and Ogier broke away from the rest on the next stage, with Ogier claiming two consecutive stage wins before the spectator stage, the day 6.5 seconds ahead of Evans. Fourmaux was up as high as third place by that point, followed by Pajari in fourth and Tänak in fifth place.

"Overall, our speed today reflects our current level. It hasn't been very strong here, but there's still one day to go and we'll bring the car home," was Tänak's verdict.

"We know we're no longer in the fight here. We've lost our form and have questions that need answers," said Tänak, who did not believe in his chances even in Sunday's rain. "We're three minutes behind; we have no chance," he continued.

Sunday

Almost as if foretold by the man from Saaremaa, the decisive race day in Hokkaido saw things turn even more badly for Hyundai when Adrien Fourmaux slid and crashed into a tree on the opening stage of Sunday. The Frenchman and his co-driver Alexandre Coria managed to reach the finish line, but the co-driver's door was no longer attached to the car, and they were forced to retire, though the silver lining for the team was Tänak earning his first stage win, beating another Toyota man, Finn and double world champion Kalle Rovanperä, by 0.4 seconds.

It also meant Tänak was bumped up to fourth, despite it being at the expense of a teammate.

Even then, the Hyundai curse continued as Tänak suffered a puncture during the next stage, but the Estonian did not lose too much time and remained in a solid fourth place, where he finished.

Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) and Ogier shared the victory on the next stage, while Katsuta delighted the home crowd even further by winning the last stage before the lunch break.

Ogier went to change tires as the leader and solidified his position on the penultimate stage, earning his ninth stage win and extending his lead over Evans by 11.5 seconds.

Rally Saudi Arabia starts earlier in the week than usual WRC races, on Tuesday, November 25, ending on the Saturday, with it all to play for between Ogier and Evans. Rovanperä remains mathematically in the title race, but realistically needs both the Welshman and the Frenchman to run into severe difficulties to have any hope of becoming champion. In any case, Toyota have the drivers' title in the bag, to add to the manufacturers' title they had already won.

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