The last of the day’s gravel stages was the re-run of Paredes before a single visit to a super special at the Lousada rallycross circuit.
Adrien Fourmaux continued to keep the pressure on Dani Sordo in the hunt for fourth place and he beat the Spaniard by 11 seconds to close to within nine.
Thierry Neuville consolidated third but Sébastien Ogier was not to be denied and the Frenchman continued to press on regardless, set his sixth fastest time of the weekend and edged a further 1.6 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak.
Jan Solans snatched a 4.1-second WRC2 lead from Josh Mcerlean although both drivers were beaten on the stage by Johan Rossel.
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“I mean, it has been a good weekend for us. It has been challenging. One more stage to go. We have to try with a good road position to go for at least a couple of extra points tomorrow.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“We have to see what is possible. The confidence maybe isn’t as high as what we want it to be. We just have to see what is possible.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“We wanted to put pressure on Dani but we have lost too much time this morning. I am really happy with the day to be fair. It was a struggle this morning but it has been much more enjoyable this afternoon.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“I would say if it’s a clean day tomorrow we have no chance.”
Car 17. OGIER/LANDAIS
“It is good to be in the lead. It has been a clean day for us. Now we need to finish the Lousada stage.”
Car 13. MUNSTER/LOUKA
“I have dust because we have a problem. It is not fun to drive. That’s it.”
Car 21. ROSSEL/DANAND
“Not easy choice this afternoon. I tried. We must keep the pressure. The guys are very fast today. Tomorrow, we have very tricky stages and a lot of people on Fafe. The first one will be very tricky. We keep the soft for tomorrow. Let’s see.”
Car 25. GRYAZIN/ALEKSANDROV
“We are changing the car all the time and doing different things. Sometimes it is working and sometimes it is not. We are not collecting the points here but the position is quite good. Tomorrow, the first stage is quite crazy.”
Car 28. SOLANS/SANJUAN
“The entry list was huge. I saw so many drivers who can win this rally. The key has been we have been clever, no mistakes and good tyre choice.”