Sebastien Ogier is a 40km drive away from claiming a sixth-straight world title on the NSW north coast on Sunday.
The Frenchman, in his Ford farewell, has remained in sixth following the morning loop of Rally Australia’s final round.
He only has to hold his buffer over rival Thierry Neuville, which now sits at 40 seconds, when the loop is repeated later on Sunday in the Coffs Harbour forests.
Toyota’s Ott Tanak had started the day with the rally lead and, 23 points behind Ogier in the title race, needed to finish there to be any chance of eclipsing the five-time defending champion.
But the Estonian ran off the road on a morning stage, handing the lead to Toyota teammate Jari-Matti Latvala as the forecast rain finally arrived.
Tanak trails Latvala by five seconds, with Ogier one minute 45 seconds off the lead and Hyundai’s Neuville 2:24.9 off the front.
“In the dry it was challenging, but in the wet it was worse because it’s difficult to judge the grip. There are some super slippery sections and it’s not a relaxing Sunday morning for sure,” Ogier, who will join Citroen next year, said.
Neuville had trailed Ogier by just three points heading into the World Rally Championship finale in the tightest series finish for 15 years.
But the Belgian blew a tyre on day one, losing 40 valuable seconds that he has been unable to make up on the slippery forestry roads.