Wales Rally GB: SS18/19: OTT IN CONTROL

He followed up with third quickest in Brenig and returned to service in Llandudno with a 10.9sec lead after the final stage of the loop, the asphalt blast around the town’s craggy Great Orme headland, was cancelled for safety reasons.

Rough sea conditions meant rally organisers were unable to deploy divers in the safety boat below the huge drops from the cliffs above.

“I’m just focused on finishing the rally. Of course, we need to keep the pace, but the feeling is good in the car so I feel confident,” Tänak said.

Neuville finished second in both stages in his Hyundai i20, extending his advantage over Sébastien Ogier to 13.3sec. The Citroën C3 driver seemed to have accepted that third is the best he can achieve.

“Let’s try to finish as fast as we can but the pace is not so great at the moment,” said the Frenchman.

The main focus through the tests was on the battle for fifth between Elfyn Evans and Andreas Mikkelsen, who were blanketed by just 4.5sec overnight.

Evans struck first, third fastest time in Alwen in his Ford Fiesta slicing 1.5sec from his deficit. He then won Brenig, 4.6sec quicker than the Norwegian’s i20, to ease ahead and potentially put a dent into Hyundai’s manufacturers’ points haul in their enthralling title battle with Toyota Gazoo Racing.

With the cancellation of Great Orme, a second pass through Alwen and Brenig is all that remains ahead of the afternoon’s finish ceremony in Llandudno.

Top fifteen after SS19

1.	8	O. TÄNAK	M. JÄRVEOJA	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT	M	RC1	2:51:27.8
2.	11	T. NEUVILLE	N. GILSOUL	HYUNDAI SHELL MOBIS WORLD RALLY TEAM	M	RC1	2:51:38.7	+10.9	+10.9
3.	1	S. OGIER	J. INGRASSIA	CITROEN TOTAL WRT	M	RC1	2:51:52.0	+13.3	+24.2
4.	5	K. MEEKE	S. MARSHALL	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT	M	RC1	2:51:59.8	+7.8	+32.0
5.	33	E. EVANS	S. MARTIN	M-SPORT FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM	M	RC1	2:52:17.3	+17.5	+49.5
6.	89	A. MIKKELSEN	A. JAEGER	HYUNDAI SHELL MOBIS WORLD RALLY TEAM	M	RC1	2:52:18.9	+1.6	+51.1
7.	7	P. TIDEMAND	O. FLOENE	M-SPORT FORD WORLD RALLY TEAM	M	RC1	2:56:37.8	+4:18.9	+5:10.0
8.	42	C. BREEN	P. NAGLE	HYUNDAI SHELL MOBIS WORLD RALLY TEAM	M	RC1	3:00:48.7	+4:10.9	+9:20.9
9.	21	K. ROVANPERÄ	J. HALTTUNEN	SKODA MOTORSPORT	WRC2PRO	RC2	3:01:39.1	+50.4	+10:11.3
10.	55	P. SOLBERG	P. MILLS	PETTER SOLBERG	WRC2	RC2	3:02:36.3	+57.2	+11:08.5
11.	94	T. CAVE	D. FURNISS	TOM CAVE	NONE	RC2	3:02:46.8	+10.5	+11:19.0
12.	43	P. LOUBET	V. LANDAIS	PIERRE-LOUIS LOUBET	WRC2	RC2	3:02:51.0	+4.2	+11:23.2
13.	91	N. GRYAZIN	Y. FEDOROV	NIKOLAY GRYAZIN	NONE	RC2	3:02:52.3	+1.3	+11:24.5
14.	92	T. KATSUTA	D. BARRITT	TOMMI MÄKINEN RACING	NONE	RC2	3:04:57.2	+2:04.9	+13:29.4
15.	53	A. FOURMAUX	R. JAMOUL	ADRIEN FOURMAUX	WRC2	RC2	3:05:22.7	+25.5	+13:5