Sebastien Ogier started Saturday with a relatively handy lead of 8.9 seconds over Oliver Solberg but as the day played out, Solberg edged ever closer as the intra Toyota fight intensified.
Solberg was quicker than his nine-time champion teammate in the opening two stages by 1.6 and 1.9 seconds, before winning the longest stage of the rally in mixed conditions as light rain fell. There was only a tenth of a second in it, but they all counted.
After the midday service break, Solberg was again a sliver faster than Ogier, before the battling duo tied the win on SS13. Solberg was mighty in the final stage, taking another 1.4 second bite out of Ogier’s lead, bringing it down to 3.8 seconds with four stages remaining.
Elfyn Evans won two of the morning’s three stages to close to within 4.9 seconds of Solberg but in the afternoon, Evans was outpaced which marked the end of his push for the second step of the podium and he ended the day 12.9 seconds away, despite winning another stage.
The other fight within the Toyota camp between Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta was equally intense, before the young Finn edged away in the afternoon loop.
In the Hyundai camp, Adrien Fourmaux continued as the leading driver for the Korean brand, putting just over half a minute between himself and Dani Sordo, who lost some pace across the day and ended the day holding on to seventh overall but with just two seconds in hand over Thierry Neuville.
Josh McErlean remained the leading M-Sport Puma driver in ninth overall, while his teammate was in the wars once more after diving into the Gran Canaria bush on the final stage, losing two minutes and six positions in the overall standings.
Yohan Rossel continues to lead the WRC2 category and holds tenth overall with 27 seconds in hand over Alejandro Cachon, who had to fight hard to keep Leo Rossel behind him. The gap at Saturday’s close was two-tenths of a second in the fight for P2.
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