DOLGELLAU driver Elfyn Evans won back-to-back Rally Japan title to help his Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team claim its fourth consecutive FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title in a thrilling end to the season.

Despite closing its deficit to the leader Hyundai from 15 to 11 points based on the positions at the end of Saturday, TGR-WRT went into the final day still facing a tough task to retain its title.

However, with all drivers on both teams pushing hard on the challenging asphalt roads near Toyota City, it was presented with an opportunity when the rally leader Ott Tänak went off on Sunday’s opening stage.

With Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier promoted into first and second overall, and with the separate Super Sunday classification also factored in, the two teams were level on points going into the rally-ending Power Stage, where up to five further points were available for the fastest drivers.

As Takamoto Katsuta had followed the team’s strategy by also cleanly making it through the rally, TGR-WRT could count on three contenders in this final-stage decider.

Ogier set the fastest time in the Power Stage for the full five bonus points, and with Evans third-quickest and Katsuta fourth, the team clinched the title by three points after 13 rallies.

It is the eighth manufacturers’ title won by Toyota in the WRC, drawing it level with Citroën for second place in the all-time list.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin proved to be the masters of the demanding Japanese stages once more as they celebrated their first victory since the same event one year ago.

The result ensures they finish the year as runners-up in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings. Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais ended the year with their seventh podium from 10 starts, including three wins.

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen also contributed four victories from a partial campaign. Katsuta and navigator Aaron Johnston rounded out the season strongly with a second straight top-four finish.

Evans, 35, said: “It’s been a very exciting last day of Rally Japan and we’re delighted with the final result.

“It’s a very special event as a home rally for the team and I’m naturally very happy to win it again.

“With it I’m also really happy to contribute towards the manufacturers’ title: it means a lot for every member of the team and I’m proud to be a part of it.

“We maybe didn’t always have the performance we wanted during the whole weekend, but we kept trying until the end.

“I felt for Ott this morning as he had to push, and that opened up the opportunity for us but it still wasn’t easy to bring it home and get the points we needed.”

Team principal Jari-Matti Latval was delighted with the win: “We have had such a rollercoaster season and we knew coming here to Rally Japan that we still had a chance to take the title, but the odds were not in our favour.

“However, we said that we would fight until the last metre of the rally and see what happens, and actually we kept that fight on to the end and that’s how we managed to win the title.

“It shows you should keep fighting until the end and never lose faith.”