[2] The event was based in Alghero in Sardinia and consisted of twenty special stages totalling 313.46 km (194.78 mi) in competitive kilometres.

In uncharacteristic conditions, defending world champion Sébastien Ogier took a dramatic lead over the championship leader Thierry Neuville by 18.9 seconds after Andreas Mikkelsen retired from the day due to gearbox issue.

Two Citroën drivers Mads Østberg and Craig Breen were in sixth and eighth respectively, sandwiched Hayden Paddon in a Hyundai i20.

Elfyn Evans dropped out of top twenty after breaking a steering arm due to hitting a rock in his Ford Fiesta.

Ott Tänak, who was running under Rally2 regulations, recovered to ninth after yesterday's engine damage, followed by Martin Prokop completed the top ten.

The difference between two title rivals was only 0.7 second, the third tightest winning margin in WRC history, which shared with 2017 Rally Argentina.

Two Citroën drivers Mads Østberg and Craig Breen were in fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala, who was running under Rally2 regulations.

WRC-2 category leader Jan Kopecký was in eighth after Ott Tänak received a forty-second penalty due to a four-minute late, while Teemu Suninen completed the top ten.