Sordo takes the lead in SS2

The 19.51km of the nearby Góis stage was next on the agenda. Ogier continued to act as road sweeper on the drier surface and carded a time of 13min 10.0sec. But the Frenchman dropped another 5.5 seconds to Neuville and an ominous 7.4 to a flying Tänak.  

Katsuta enjoyed a good run to beat all three of his Toyota team-mates but road position played into Sordo’s hands and the Spaniard stormed through to take the stage win in a time of 12min 59sec and an outright lead of 3.2 seconds from Tänak. The result marked a first ever WRC stage win for Sordo’s new co-driver Borja Rozada and a second Hyundai 1-2-3 of the morning. 

Pierre-Louis Loubet left the road after 14.1km, as Suninen moved to the top of the WRC2 standings from Lappi and Gryazin.