With many crews struggling on worn tyres the single pass through the Mortágua (18.15km) stage may well have been decisive.
Joint WRC leader Elfyn Evans’s frustrating day running first on the road ended when he crashed off road after 13.8km. The Welshman’s demise lifted Ott Tänak into sixth place. But there was no stopping Kalle Rovanperä, who had been forced to open the road after his team-mate’s demise. The Finn was second quickest and headed to the final stage with a lead of 14.2 seconds after Dani Sordo missed a junction and was forced to select reverse gear after 11km.
A frustrating stage time for Thierry Neuville saw the Belgian slip to fifth behind Esapekka Lappi - who claimed a second stage win of the day for Hyundai - and Pierre-Louis Loubet.
Andreas Mikkelsen was the class of the WRC2 field but Oliver Solberg extended his overall lead after Yohan Rossel incurred a 40-second time penalty for a late start arrival. Bolivia’s Marco Bulacia looked set for second place if he could stay out of trouble on the stage.
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“I have never done this stage in the entire length in the proper conditions. This was the first time for us. It is a very tricky stage. With the feeling I have with the car in there, it was difficult to do much more.”
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
Clipped the banking on the inside of a corner. “It has been a rough day, a tough afternoon. This one is cleaning a lot. Let’s see how much faster the guys behind are. It is not easy opening the road after Elfyn went off. It is a shame for him.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“There was no dust. It’s been challenging, so many troubles to carry through. Obviously the puncture was not helping.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
Left the road 13.8km into the stage. Both crew members were unharmed.
Car 6. SORDO/CARRERA
A brief spin and a reverse after 11km. “We miss a junction and we lost a ltitle bit of time there. We made a really bad stage. The rear was moving a lot. We lost a bit of time.”
Car 4. LAPPI/FERM
“This was my big stage. I didn’t do it last year with these cars I really tried to learn it and I was committed.”
Car 7. LOUBET/LANDAIS
“A good day. One of the most toughest stages of the season. You do not see all the road. It is tricky. One to go..”
Car 20. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“Certainly not how I wanted to start the weekend. We are here. Just try to be clean and make no mistakes.”
Car 21. SOLBERG/EDMONDSON
“I am through, clean, and just been a consistent fast day. My tyres are f… but all okay.”
Car 23. SUNINEN/MARKKULA
“I wish. It start to be a bit second-hand now (tyres). We try to do our best!”
Car 24. MIKKELSEN/ERIKSEN
“The speed is there. It’s just a shame. That’s rally, That’s how it is. We just have to catch as much time as we can. For sure, we haven’t given up.”
Car 25. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“You know we have lost a lot of time on the last two stages. It was a disaster for us. We are driving well. I have three completely dead tyres. Only one is good for me. We try to be tidy.”
Car 26. ROSSEL/DUNAND
Had a 40-second time penalty late at the stage start. “I change my wheels front on rear and when I start for the start my wheel was completely blocked.”