Evans extends lead, Ogier and Loeb in trouble again

Overnight pacesetter Evans managed to briefly extend his margin over championship leader Rovanpera after winning the day’s opening stage, before Rovanpera responded to close the gap to 10.2s.

Evans then stamped his authority on the morning to win the final stage of the loop to open up an 18.4s lead over Rovanpera.

The battle for the remaining podium spot intensified as a fired up Takamoto Katsuta leapfrogged Hyundai’s Dani Sordo into third overall. The Toyota driver ensured a provisional top-three lock out for the Japanese marque, ending the loop 1m19.7s behind Evans, but 3.5s ahead of Sordo.

Further back, nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb and eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier returned to the fray after retiring from Friday’s stages, but both encountered issues.

Loeb suffered a power loss in Stage 11 from his Ford Puma which resulted in the Frenchman exiting the rally for a second time in two days. Long-time rival Ogier also hit problems on the same stage, crashing into a bank that left him beached on a hillside.

Overcast and humid conditions with a threat of rain greeted the crews for the start of the rally’s longest day, featuring almost 165 kilometres.

Equipped with fresh rubber, Evans kicked off the morning in fine form as the Welshman stormed to his fifth stage win of the rally, beating Rovanpera by 1.3s.

It was enough to extend his overnight lead to 14.9s as Rovanpera admitted he was “maybe not clean enough in places” and hampered by the extra weight of carrying a second spare wheel. Katsuta was third fastest as he took chunk of time out of Sordo.

It proved to be a difficult stage for M-Sport as Loeb and Craig Breen struggled on the slippery gravel roads after a poor decision to run two hard tyres on the front axle.

M-Sport’s Pierre-Louis Loubet lost time to half spin as he also struggled for purchase, while team-mate Gus Greensmith…