Evans two stages from famous Rally GB victory

Evans nursed his lead through Sunday morning's first three stages and now holds a 43.4-second advantage in his DMACK Ford.

The extremely tight five-way podium battle featuring all three WRC title contenders continued in Evans's wake.

Thierry Neuville quickly moved ahead of points leader Ogier to take second on the day's Alwen opener and then pulled 4.8s clear, setting equal fastest time on Gwydir despite admitting he got lost in his pace notes at one point.

Provided Ogier stays in third, he will win this championship this weekend unless he scores zero on the powerstage and Neuville takes all five bonus points there.

But Ogier's third place is far from secure, with Jari-Matti Latvala, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ott Tanak - Sunday morning's three stage winners - all within 8.8s of his tail in fourth, fifth and sixth.

Kris Meeke is 27s behind this battle in seventh, while Hayden Paddon, Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo remain on course for the final points.

Leading positions