'Scared' Neuville crashes out in Rally Japan rain chaos

Experienced Belgian driver Thierry Neuville crashed out of the season-ending Rally Japan on Friday and said he had "never been as scared" after heavy rain made for treacherous conditions.

Britain's Elfyn Evans led France's Sebastien Ogier by 1min 49.9sec at the end of the day, with newly crowned world champion Kalle Rovanpera 2:06.6 off the pace in third.

Neuville was one of three drivers to retire on the drenched pine needle-covered roads in central Aichi prefecture, where visibility was close to zero in the morning session.

The 35-year-old, who was second at the time of his crash on stage six, said the forest roads were "changing all the time".

"I couldn't see anything," the Rally Japan defending champion said after stage three, the only stage of the morning session to be completed without interruptions.

"I have done a lot of rallies in my life but I have never been as scared as much as this morning."

The rally was over as fast as it began for @thierryneuville! 😱#WRC I #WRCLive I #RallyJapan pic.twitter.com/zfKlvRtNSK

— World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) November 17, 2023

Conditions improved slightly in the afternoon but wet roads, slippy leaves and poor visibility were still a problem.

Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe were both unhurt after coming off the road and crashing into a tree.

Spain's Dani Sordo and France's Adrien Fourmaux also retired after accidents on stage two, the first stage of the day.

Sordo, whose Hyundai was destroyed by a mid-race fire at last year's Rally Japan, slid down an embankment but escaped unhurt along with co-driver Candido Carrera.

Japan's Norihiko Katsuta smashed into a tree on the same stage but was able to rejoin the race.

Rovanpera had already clinched his second straight championship at last month's Central European rally.

The Finn said conditions were "quite extreme" after the third stage.

"For half of the stage I had no visibility," he said.

"All of the windows were fogged up."