Andreas Mikkelsen climbed into fourth after overhauling Henning Solberg through the penultimate 16.21km Santa Brás de Alportel (SS15).
Mikkelsen was 11.4sec quicker than his fellow Norwegian to move his Volkswagen Polo R 8.7sec ahead with just the 13.83km Loulé Power Stage remaining.
“My rhythm was better on this one but it was so slippery in places. We try to fight with Henning but we’re not taking big risks. You need to play the game smart. I played the game smart here after my crash in Mexico and now I’m setting good stage times. It’s just what I wanted,” said Mikkelsen.
Seventh-placed Martin Prokop sliced the front left tyre on his Ford Fiesta RS after a slight error. “I went wide and straight over some forest and hit something,” said the Czech driver.