Thick fog and poor visibility have thrown up an incredible curveball at the Rally Chile, as the drivers battle some treacherous conditions.
Reigning champion Kalle Rovanpera secured the stage win by just over 15 seconds from Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans.
Hyundai and Ott Tanak’s tyre gamble didn’t pay off, and left him 33 seconds adrift at the end of the day, having taken on six sets of hard tyres.
The combination of tricky weather and surfaces made tyre strategy problematic for some, but not as problematic as the stage was for Sebastian Ogier, who retired from ninth after hitting a rock.
Kalle Rovanpera calls Rally Chile one of the ‘most challenging’
During the early stages of the really, Rovanpera could be heard questioning his tyre choice and whether it would come back to bite him.
“It is really hard to tell how fast to go on the downhill as you don’t want to kill the tyres. We have two hard tyres with us again so we hope that works for us,” he said.
As the leader of the rally for so long, Evans lost nearly half a minute slowing to a crawl in the fog, after no longer being able to see ahead.
READ MORE: Elfyn Evans surprised by why WRC Rally Chile has ‘a similar character’ to Wales Rally GB
Rovanpera seized the initiative to snatch the lead of the rally and head into the final day with a slight advantage.
On the WRC X account (formerly known as Twitter), he was quoted as saying “Huge fog and some of the most challenging stages of the year. I think.”
Rally Chile outlook headed into the final day
Championship leader Thierry Neuville picked up 10 points for finishing fourth on Saturday, and is still relatively in the hunt for the overall win.
It would be a stretch from 43.7 seconds behind, but weather could continue to play some role over the final day of running.
Rain is forecast in the morning before things brighten up, which will make visibility and driving much easier.
READ MORE: WRC stewards give key reason why Hyundai’s protest against Elfyn Evans’ Rally Chile lead failed
The four stages left are going to require big commitment from those trailing to catch up to Rovanpera, who extended his lead and seemed in great form over the last few stages on day three.
His teammate Evans felt as if he didn’t put enough on the line throughout the final stages, causing the lead to be extended out front.