Sebastien Ogier was on a big charge in the 20.29km stage at ’Coiluna-Crastazza 2’. And when his stage time was confirmed, it was a strategy that paid off. He was fastest by 1.6s and with his team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen going almost 3s slower, Ogier jumped into third place overall – a remarkable achievement given the difficulties he had faced as he swept the roads during the morning’s loop of stages.
“I am completely maximum, as hard as I can,” the reigning world champion said. “I’m taking lots of risks. Luckily the stages are very narrow and there are not so many options for a wrong line on the road.”
The next target on Ogier’s radar was sure to be Mads Ostberg as the crews headed to the final stage of the day at ‘Loelle 2’. The Norwegian driver clung onto his second place in SS8 but was now only 2.3s ahead of his VW-driving rival. He was well aware of the threat that Ogier was expected to pose on the final test of the day. “The Volkswagens are going really fast. We are trying – we’ll have to go faster,” the Citroen driver said hopefully.