(Reuters) -Title rivals and Toyota teammates Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans were separated by 6.5 seconds after the second leg of Rally Japan on Saturday, with the Frenchman leading the championship frontrunner into the final day.
Ogier, an eight-times world champion chasing a record-equalling ninth title, led through the seven stages but his advantage over Evans was trimmed from 10.2 seconds on Friday night.
"I feel that I’ve done a good job this afternoon but I could have done better this morning. I think that’s the summary of the day," said Ogier, who won the day's final three stages after Evans won two of the opening four.
Welshman Evans took his 200th career world rally championship stage on Mount Kasagi and cut Ogier's lead to 1.6 seconds before falling back again by nightfall in Toyota City.
Evans leads Ogier by 13 points, a margin set to be cut to single digits although Sunday has up to 10 bonus points available, and is hoping to become only the third Briton to take the title and the first since Richard Burns in 2001.
"Overall it’s been a good day. This morning things were going well and working much better than yesterday. I was maybe driving more smoothly also, and we were able to close the gap to Seb," said Evans, winner of the last two editions of Rally Japan.
"We still had good runs through the first two stages this afternoon, but then probably gave away more than I would have liked in the last two. It’s still pretty close though and all to play for going into tomorrow."
Japan's Takamoto Katsuta, who had been second overnight on home asphalt, hit a barrier and broke his Toyota's power-steering.
Katsuta fell to 22nd, with Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux moving up to third overall and 17.1 seconds behind Evans after winning two stages.
Finland's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera, who started the penultimate round of the season level on points with Ogier but dropped to 17th on Friday after damaging his car's suspension on a barrier, moved back up to seventh.
Compatriot Sami Pajari was fourth for Toyota with Hyundai's Ott Tanak in fifth place and M-Sport Ford's Gregoire Muster in sixth.
Sunday's final leg features six stages to the south-east of Toyota City near Okazaki. The last round of the season is in Saudi Arabia on November 25-29.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)
