The penultimate 21.6km test in Portugal turned the rally on its head when the leader, Sebastien Ogier, and third placed Sami Pajari both had to stop to change punctured tyres.
Ogier plummeted to sixth and Pajari dropped to seventh.
Thierry Neuville heads into the final Wolf Power Stage with a 14.8 second lead over Oliver Solberg with Elfyn Evans climbing on to the final step of the podium.
“Nothing is done yet. So far we have done the job, now we must finish. We know how not to do it, now we should do it. It was raining for me and there was very low grip. I must be pleased with it,” said Neuville with Rally Croatia’s final stage retirement still fresh in his mind.
“It was very rough and there was some rocks in the line. There was rocks everywhere at the beginning,” Ogier reported.
Stay tuned…