Despite running second on the road, Mads Ostberg, in the first of the Citroen DS3 WRCs, went through the second stage of the day fastest, saying he found the stage slippery but enjoying it nonetheless.
Second-fastest was Volkswagen Motorsport’s Jari-Matti Latvala, who despite saying he felt he was being too hesitant, was just 0.3s slower but benefitting from being seven cars further back on the road.
Third-fastest was Kris Meeke, 1.4 seconds slower than Ostberg while Andreas Mikkelsen was fourth, 2.3 seconds slower than Ostberg but maintaining his overall lead of the event, just two seconds ahead of Meeke.
Dani Sordo was fifth, ahead of Sebastien Ogier sixth, leaving the championship leader in seventh place overall, almost 15 seconds behind Mikkelsen after three stages.
Several drivers were already discussing tyre options, those using soft tyres saying they felt their car was moving around but Thierry Neuville explained that he had selected hard tyres as part of a rally-long strategy and while he may lose time today, expects to regain it later on.
Drivers were also reporting rocks being pulled out into the path of the cars from earlier ones, meaning punctures and avoidance for later runners, potentially off-setting the benefit of running further back.