Evans ended the loop of four slippery asphalt stages, impacted by patchy rain, with a 2.3s lead over Tanak. The Welshman inherited the lead after team-mate Rovanpera suffered a violent roll on Stage 2.
Rally favourite Thierry Neuville held third, his Hyundai some 8.8s in arrears to Evans after losing time to a driver error on the opening stage. M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux had led the Ford team’s charge in fourth, but dropped to eighth on Stage 4 after a late deluge hampered his progress, promoting Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) and Craig Breen (M-Sport) to fourth and fifth respectively.
