Australia: Neuville stays on course despite the rain

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) remains at the head of Rally from Australia with two stages to go. Despite a downpour which surprised the leaders, the Belgian maintained a lead of more than 14 seconds over Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota), his closest adversary. Ott Tänak (M-Sport) remains on the provisional podium by closing within a dozen seconds of the Finn.

Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) is now in fourth place after taking advantage of the retirement of Craig Breen (Citroën) rolled over in SS18. The team reported that the crew was in good health.

Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) completes the top five, a good distance from the leading quartet. Still troubled by gearbox problems, the five-time world champion received a one-minute penalty for clocking out too early at the start of SS18.

The Frenchman maintains more than half a minute ahead of Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) who took sixth place after the retirement of Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën) who tore off his left rear wheel when hitting a tree in SS17.