Toyota GAZOO Racing defended home turf with a 1-2-3-4 Rally Japan win on May 31, 2026, the manufacturer announced in a detailed statement that highlighted Elfyn Evans’ third triumph at the event ahead of teammates Sébastien Ogier, Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta. The sweep on the twisting forest roads of Aichi and Gifu prefectures extended the team’s manufacturers’ championship advantage to 127 points while placing all four drivers in the top five of the drivers’ standings. Evans holds a 20-point lead in the title chase following the result.
The team said in its release that Evans and co-driver Scott Martin completed the rally in 3 hours, 17 minutes and 8.0 seconds. Ogier and Vincent Landais trailed by 12.8 seconds in second place with Pajari and Marko Salminen a further 38.6 seconds back in third. Katsuta and Aaron Johnston rounded out the top four, recovering strongly on the final day to post a stage win and second in the Power Stage. This outcome represented the fourth success for the GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid in the last five Rally Japan editions.
According to the statement, the victory came in warmer than usual conditions with temperatures surpassing 30 degrees Celsius on narrow mountain roads. Evans seized the lead during the Isegami’s Tunnel stage while the team maintained its lock on the leading positions throughout the weekend. Pajari achieved his fifth podium in the last six rallies and his sixth top-three finish since debuting at the Japanese event six months earlier. The performance also extended the GR YARIS Rally1’s streak to 50 consecutive asphalt stage wins over the past three WRC events on that surface.
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota GAZOO Racing, congratulated the drivers in the official announcement. He said, “Elfyn, Scott, congratulations on your third Rally Japan victory! You were incredibly fast on the autumn roads we drove on until last year, and you were just as fast on the fresh green roads this time. You were also the fastest when we drove here together after Rally Japan a few years ago. And you are the only driver who has won so many times right in front of my eyes. I think that means you and I make a great combination as well. Thanks also to Seb and Vincent and to Sami and Marko, the team secured a fantastic podium sweep.” The statement noted that the result arrived at the halfway point of the season with several challenging gravel rallies remaining.
A review of prior team releases shows Toyota GAZOO Racing secured a 1-2-3 result at the 2025 Rally Japan under wet conditions with Ogier taking the win. The 2026 edition marked the last competitive outing for the current Rally1 cars before the introduction of new technical regulations in 2027. The manufacturer has maintained a strong presence in the championship since its return in 2017, the statement added.
The announcement confirmed that GR-WRT drivers occupy the top five places in the drivers’ championship with Evans first, Katsuta second, Oliver Solberg third, Pajari fourth and Ogier fifth. This followed the squad’s extension of its manufacturers’ lead by a substantial margin after the home event. The statement highlighted the contribution of all four crews to the overall team performance across the three-day competition.
Following the home success the squad will turn its focus to the Acropolis Rally Greece set for June 25-28. The Greek event will test the team’s gravel credentials after the asphalt dominance displayed in Japan. Preparations will build on the momentum gained from the result that reinforced the manufacturer’s position at the head of the constructors’ table.
