Citroen driver Kris Meeke holds a slender lead at Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour in northern NSW.

Meeke holds a 2.1 second gap over the rest of the field though Volkswagen duo Jari-Matti Latvala and Sebastien Ogier have narrowed the Irish driver’s advantage going into Friday night’s short Super Special Stage.

Despite not setting the fastest time in any of Friday afternoon’s three special stages, Meeke ended the afternoon 2.1 seconds ahead of a resurgent Latvala – winner of two stages on Friday afternoon – and 2.6 seconds to world champion Ogier.

“We lost some time in SS4 (special stage four), but I am happy with my own performance,” said Meeke, who is yet to win a World Rally Championship event.

“We had a great rhythm – but (the Volkswagen drivers) are very fast.” The third factory VW Polo, driven by Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen, lies in fourth, ahead of Ford’s Finnish ace Mikko Hirvonen.

Young New Zealander Hayden Paddon sits fifth, and is the highest-placed of the three factory Hyundai entries, after team leader Thierry Neuville broke the right rear suspension on his i20 in special stage five.

Amazingly, he and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul managed to jury-rig a repair at the end of the stage to complete the afternoon’s running.

“I hit a stone at the exit of a corner,” explained Neuville. “I thought the car was okay, but it broke soon after.”

Australian Chris Atkinson continues to struggle on his return to the World Rally Championship.

In a car not suited to his tidy and precise driving style, loose underbody panels on special stage 5 further slowed the Queenslander’s progress. He lies in 11th position, 2 min 44 sec behind the lead of the rally.

The WRC crews will run a short Super Special Stage at Coffs Harbour Showground on Friday night, before returning to the forests on Saturday morning.