Ogier takes the lead while Hirvonen drops out of the fight

Sebastien Ogier became the new leader of Rally Japan after setting the fastest time through SS20.

The Frenchman moved ahead of fellow Citroen C4 driver Petter Solberg on the 20km Naekawa - the longest of Sunday’s stages - to pull 2.7sec clear at the top of the standings.

But after reporting a gear change problem on the previous stage, ongoing mechanical issues cost Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen his chance of a third Rally Japan victory.

A failed differential pump affected both the gear change and transmission systems on his Focus RS WRC, costing him 28sec on Naekawa alone and dropping him from third to fifth. With no service opportunity during Sunday’s competition further time loss seems inevitable.

Hirvonen’s woes allowed Dani Sordo up to third. The Citroen Junior team driver lies 21.5sec behind Solberg.

Overall standings after SS20: