The Toyota duo continued an enthralling head-to-head as championship leader Rovanpera applied pressure on long-time leader Ogier to reduce the gap to 13.6s with three stages remaining.
Elfyn Evans remained on course to claim the final podium position despite a small scare. The Welshman headed to service 2m49.5s adrift and 35.7s ahead of Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.
