Thierry Neuville held a commanding lead in the Che Guevara energy drink Tour de Corse after a dramatic second leg on Saturday.

The Belgian starts Sunday’s finale with a 38.9sec advantage over Sébastien Ogier after engine problems sidelined Kris Meeke from the lead and mechanical troubles blunted Ogier’s attack as he seemed destined to pounce.

Neuville will hope history does not repeat itself tomorrow. He crashed his Hyundai i20 Coupe when leading in the opening two rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship season in Monte-Carlo and Sweden.

He won three of the four asphalt speed tests in the mountains of northern Corsica, leapfrogging both Meeke and Ogier in this morning’s second test.

Meeke’s 16sec lead was wiped out as his Citroën C3 coasted to the finish with smoke billowing from its engine. With Ogier struggling to find a good feeling in his Ford Fiesta, Neuville swept into a near-10sec lead.

A rejuvenated Ogier regained much of that in the opening afternoon test after set-up changes transformed his car’s handling, only for hydraulic problems to leave him limping through the final stage.

“We were able to set good times today, we were very strong. I pushed hard in the final stage to try to increase the lead a bit more and then Ogier had his problem. Tomorrow will be tough though,” Neuville said.

Ogier had kept his troubles a secret. “At the end of SS7 we lost hydraulic pressure so I knew the problem was starting. The target was to finish the day and get back to service. We had no gearshift and no differentials so it was like a proper rear-wheel drive car!” he said.

The Belgian starts Sunday’s finale with a 38.9sec advantage over Sébastien Ogier after engine problems sidelined Kris Meeke from the lead and mechanical troubles blunted Ogier’s attack as he seemed destined to pounce.

Neuville will hope history does not repeat itself tomorrow. He crashed his Hyundai i20 Coupe when leading in the opening two rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship season in Monte-Carlo and Sweden.

He won three of the four asphalt speed tests in the mountains of northern Corsica, leapfrogging both Meeke and Ogier in this morning’s second test.

Meeke’s 16sec lead was wiped out as his Citroën C3 coasted to the finish with smoke billowing from its engine. With Ogier struggling to find a good feeling in his Ford Fiesta, Neuville swept into a near-10sec lead.

A rejuvenated Ogier regained much of that in the opening afternoon test after set-up changes transformed his car’s handling, only for hydraulic problems to leave him limping through the final stage.

“We were able to set good times today, we were very strong. I pushed hard in the final stage to try to increase the lead a bit more and then Ogier had his problem. Tomorrow will be tough though,” Neuville said.

Ogier had kept his troubles a secret. “At the end of SS7 we lost hydraulic pressure so I knew the problem was starting. The target was to finish the day and get back to service. We had no gearshift and no differentials so it was like a proper rear-wheel drive car!” he said.

Fiesta WRC driver Elfyn Evans has maintained his Rally Argentina advantage during Saturday morning’s loop of three stages, but the Welshman lost 14 seconds of his lead when he ran wide in the final stage and punctured.

Even so, he still heads second-placed Thierry Neuville by 44.1 seconds as the crews head into the mid-leg service. Mads Ostberg, second last night, has dropped to third after problems in the opener but the Norwegian is enjoying a fine run in his privately-run Fiesta.

Saturday’s route in the Punilla Valley is the longest competitively and takes in two loops of three stages totalling 160 competitive kilometres. Evans was again on hot pace this morning, winning the opening stage to increase his lead to over a minute.

He lost a little time with a slow puncture in the long 38.68 kilometre run from Los Gigantes to Cantera El Condor and then dropped yet more seconds in the final stage of the loop. Fighting to maintain podium position, Neuville is largely focused on keeping his rivals behind, the gap to Evans looking too much to overcome.

The Belgian hit a bank this morning and punctured but was lucky to move from third to second position when Ostberg hit problems. A loss of hydraulic pressure left his Fiesta without the centre differential and handbrake, and while the Norwegian managed to fix the problem for the following two stages, losing the rear diffuser in the same test hampered his charge in the high speed sections for the rest of the morning.

Ott Tänak has moved into fourth ahead of team-mate Sebastien Ogier. Tänak stalled on the start line of the first stage and had two spins in the last stage, but managed to inch ahead of Ogier who has found his Fiesta un-driveable all morning. The Frenchman is fifth ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala who has made some set-up changes to the Yaris WRC but is still not entirely comfortable.

Hayden Paddon has had a steady run but following his roll yesterday, is over two minutes further behind in the i20 WRC. Lorenzo Bertelli continues to learn and enjoy a better pace and he heads Juho Hänninen, who has again experienced engine problems. Pontus Tidemand rounds off the top 10 in a Škoda Fabia R5 and tops the FIA WRC 2 Championship standings.

Kris Meeke, returning under Rally 2 regulations following his roll yesterday, was the only other stage winner, the Northern Irishman taking some consolation from fastest times in SS11 and SS12. His team-mate, Craig Breen, was however not so lucky; he was again forced to retire before the start of the first stage when the Citroën team noticed an oil leak on his C3 WRC.

Thierry Neuville snatched one of the closest FIA World Rally Championship wins in history at YPF Rally Argentina on Sunday afternoon.

He edged out longtime leader Elfyn Evans by just 0.7sec in a pulsating final speed test when the Welshman clipped a bridge, ending his dreams of a maiden victory. Only two rounds have been decided by a smaller margin in the WRC’s 45-year history.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe driver trailed Evans by 11.5sec heading into the last leg of the four-day dirt road encounter. Brake problems for Evans and a fierce Neuville attack sent the pair into the final 16.32km test at the famous El Condor separated by just 0.6sec.

Both drivers threw caution to the wind on the rough mountain tracks, and early split times showed Evans more than three seconds ahead. But as his grip lessened near the finish, his Ford Fiesta swiped a bridge, handing Neuville a second consecutive win.

“Watching that was the worst time in my life,” said Neuville, after viewing Evans’ run from the finish. “I gave it everything I had but I didn’t have the best tyres because I had been pushing hard for two stages already.”

An emotional Evans, who led by more than a minute yesterday, said: “I’m gutted to lose by such a fine margin after so many issues. I hit a bridge and that was probably the difference. It’s difficult to take now after holding such a big lead, but part of it is my own doing and I need to come back stronger to win in the future.”  

Rock-strewn roads took a heavy toll and merely surviving Friday’s opening leg became the aim of many. Ott Tänak’s patient strategy paid off as he steered clear of trouble and thrived on the smoother weekend roads to finish third in another Fiesta, a further 29.2sec back.

Reigning champion Sébastien Ogier made it three M-Sport World Rally Team cars in the top four, and the Frenchman increased his championship lead to 16 points after five of 13 rounds. He was almost a minute adrift of Tänak.

Jari-Matti Latvala was Evans’ closest challenger early on but the Finn slipped back to finish fifth in his Toyota Yaris. Broken power steering completed a torrid weekend for Hayden Paddon, who claimed his maiden win in Argentina 12 months ago. He was sixth. 

Juho Hänninen was seventh after lacking engine power for much of the event and Dani Sordo was eighth after a final stage puncture. Mads Østberg and WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand completed the leaderboard.

Rally de Portugal hosts round six of the championship in Matosinhos, near Porto, on 18 - 21 May.

Elfyn Evans dominated a brutal Friday at Rally Argentina to build a surprise but commanding lead.

Rock-strewn gravel roads wrecked the hopes of many frontrunners, but Welshman Evans prospered to win six consecutive speed tests in his Ford Fiesta and lead the similar car of Mads Østberg by 55.7sec.

FIA World Rally Championship leader Sébastien Ogier’s slender lead after last night’s curtain-raising street test in Cordoba was wiped out by Evans once the rally hit gravel roads this morning in the Calamuchita Valley.

He won all four morning special stages to lead Jari-Matti Latvala by 30sec at mid-leg service. Two more wins, one shared with Hayden Paddon, stretched his advantage as Norwegian Østberg came through to grab second on his return after a two-round absence.

“It was pretty tough at times but we can be happy with today,” said Evans. “We have to remember there’s a very long way to go tomorrow and Sunday is a tough day too. We have to carry on in the morning like today didn’t happen.”

Østberg’s patient strategy paid dividends. Like Evans, a low start position offered cleaner and faster roads this morning and he avoided the rocks to climb the order, despite brake problems which induced a couple of small mistakes late on.

A fierce four-car fight for the final podium place ended with Thierry Neuville in third. A broken front damper and a puncture delayed the Belgian, who struggled further when dust found its way into his holed Hyundai i20 Coupe and into his eyes. He was 5.0sec behind Østberg.  

Road opener Ogier struggled in the dry conditions. He slid into a ditch this morning and later bent his Ford Fiesta’s steering after landing on a rock after a crest. He was 6.0sec behind Neuville and 4.6sec ahead of team-mate Ott Tänak, who punctured in the penultimate test.

Despite his Toyota Yaris bottoming out on the rough tracks, Latvala held second until the engine overheated and dropped him a place. A penultimate stage puncture cost a further 30sec and the Finn plunged to sixth.

Paddon rolled his i20 in the opening stage but was rejuvenated after lunchtime repairs to share a stage win with Evans and win another outright as he charged back to seventh.

Lorenzo Bertelli was eighth in a Fiesta, ahead of Juho Hänninen, whose Yaris lacked power all morning. WRC 2 leader Pontus Tidemand completed the leaderboard.

It was a disastrous day for Citroën C3 drivers Kris Meeke and Craig Breen. Meeke was second until caught out by a bump which launched his car into the scenery. It was heavily damaged and he retired. Breen’s C3 jammed in fifth gear and he too was sidelined.

Dani Sordo plunged down the order from third after hitting a rock and breaking his i20’s steering arm.

Competitors journey north-west of the rally base of Villa Carlos Paz on Saturday for the longest leg of the event amid stunning pampas scenery. They face two identical loops of three stages covering 160km.