The battle for third has taken another turn as Ott Tänak bounced back to retake the final podium place from Esapekka Lappi on SS7.
The rain loomed in the distance on the second pass of Krašić – Vrškovac, but unlike SS6 it stayed away, and the surface remained relatively dry.
And after using a wet tire on the previous stage which lost him time, Tänak didn’t make the same mistake again as he looked to grab third back – which he achieved successfully, moving him 1.5 seconds ahead of Lappi.
But it wasn’t that fight the M-Sport driver was thinking about, he had his eyes set firmly ahead on the top-two, with Elfyn Evans 22.7s up the road.
“We need to try to stay close [to Evans],” he said.
“The decision on the last one was very stupid, but anyway, we try to improve. I still think we can be better so let’s go step by step. There is a long way to go.”
Meanwhile, Thierry Neuville looked to have had a strong drive on SS7 as he set a 5m29.4s effort, which was then bested by Tänak who went 0.3s quicker.
He then confirmed at the stage end that the confidence he was lacking earlier in the day has since returned, allowing him to push at full speed.
“It felt like the first real nice stage of the day and I had full confidence in the car,” he said.
“We changed a few [damper] clicks and it felt better, but also the profile is different. Elfyn is pushing and tomorrow will be a huge day as well.”
The lead gap didn’t alter too much however, with it swinging just 0.1s in Neuville’s favor as Evans crossed the end of the stage.
Unlike Neuville, having the certainty to push wasn’t necessarily there for Sébastien Ogier, who said he needs to figure out where he can give maximum attack.
“You always need to believe, but the reality is still far,” he explained.
“We have to push and see how far we can go. It’s about trying to find where you can push or not.”
He is currently fifth and 44.5s behind Lappi, with Pierre-Louis Loubet and Takamoto Katsuta sixth and seventh following their failed tire gambles on the sixth stage.
The pair are split by just 6.9s and Katsuta will be keen to make up that time after he lost out to the M-Sport driver on SS5.
