“I overheated my tires a bit at the start of the stage, but after that it was better,” admitted the young Finn (22) and reigning world champion, after his third stage win of the rally. “There were big risks of puncture in this stage, so I was careful. I have been playing it safe since this morning”, Ogier explained a few minutes later.

The result is yet another stage treble for Toyota Gazoo Racing, ahead of the very consistent and resilient Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport), still 3rd overall ahead of Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford). The Estonian, crowned in 2019, is faced with power steering issues since SS10 in his Ford Puma, just like his teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet on Friday.

After the sandwich break at Puget-Théniers, the same loop of three specials is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, then back to Monaco to prepare for the last four stages, scheduled for Sunday morning over Nice.