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

Three drivers crashed on the drenched pine needle-covered roads in central Aichi Prefecture and visibility was close to zero.

Britain's Elfyn Evans led Neuville by 26sec after a morning session which saw stage two interrupted and stage four cancelled with conditions too dangerous to drive in.

The 35-year-old Neuville said the forest roads were "changing all the time".

"I couldn't see anything," the Hyundai driver said after stage three, the only stage of the morning session to be completed.

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

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

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

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.

Newly crowned world champion Kalle Rovanpera was fifth, 1min 36.4sec behind Evans.

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

"For half of the stage I had no visibility," said Rovanpera, who clinched his second straight championship at last month's Central European rally.

"All of the windows were fogged up."