Robert Kubica’s grip on sixth place came under fire from Elfyn Evans as the Welshman narrowed the gap to just 5.1sec through the second pass of the 22.07km downhill stage from Giulio Cesare to Mina Clavero.
The Pole jumped out of his Ford Fiesta RS at the finish to check his tyres. “We clipped a big stone and I thought we might have a puncture, but it looks like the tyres are solid,” he said.
Martin Prokop had a broken anti-roll bar at the rear of his Fiesta RS and the car was moving around a lot in the slippery conditions. “It handles like a boat!” said the Czech driver.
Sébastien Ogier ceded a further 30sec to Volkswagen team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala but the Frenchman was simply taking things steady in the fog and mud. “I drove it like a road section,” he explained.