"I always knew that being first on the road would be a handicap. But I think we succeeded in limiting the damage this morning," said Sordo. "This afternoon got off to a poor start when we picked up a slow puncture which dropped us time. I kept up a good pace to stay ahead of our rivals.
"We recovered first place after the final stage when the others, strangely enough, hit problems. We will have to push hard tomorrow because we want to stay in front, and anything is still possible."
Latvala meanwhile, who had started proceedings in third, confirmed that he eased off on purpose in the repeat run through the Baptism Sea test.
"We had a pre-event team strategy not to be first on the road tomorrow so I slowed before the finish," he explained. "I believe it's the right tactic bit it was a strange feeling having to slow the car down. I pushed as hard as possible until then. It will be a hard day tomorrow but I need to sleep well and attack hard.
"When I wake up tomorrow, I want to win this rally so I need to be both careful and very fast."
Mikko Hirvonen opted for the same approach and he was 19.8 seconds off Dani in that final stage, only tenth on the timesheets.
"With lots of loose gravel on the road surface of tomorrow's stages, my plan was to ensure I didn't start the final day first," he added. "Things were made easier for us when Loeb retired.
"I'm sure I'll have to fight all day tomorrow. Sordo will be fast on the second pass of the stages when the roads are cleaner, even if he loses time on the first pass, and Jari-Matti will be tough to beat."
Further down the order,
Chris Atkinson is fourth, albeit just over two minutes off the trio battling for the victory. The Aussie played it safe throughout the leg and reported no major problems.
"The biggest focus for us today was to get to the finish, make no mistakes and just hold position," said the
Subaru man. "There is a big gap in front and behind of us. I’m happy with fourth."
