The Estonian began the day with a slender 3.0s advantage but blew the field apart in searing central Greek heat, claiming five stage wins out of six to establish a 43.6s buffer over Sébastien Ogier heading into Sunday’s four-stage finale.

With temperatures rising and road conditions rapidly deteriorating, Tänak kept it tidy aboard his i20 N Rally1 while others hit trouble. He’s now perfectly placed to take his first win since Central European Rally last October – and is poised to climb to second in the championship depending on how Sunday unfolds.

Behind him, Ogier focused on consistency rather than chasing stage wins. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver edged Tänak by just 0.1s through SS10 – the only stage Tänak didn’t top – but chose not to take unnecessary risks elsewhere. “It would be nice to push,” he admitted, “but the key here is staying out of trouble.”

Trouble is exactly what befell Adrien Fourmaux. The Frenchman had held second until an impact with a rock in SS10 damaged the rear suspension of his i20 N Rally1. He dropped more than a minute and later reached the end of SS11 with a tyre off the rim. Despite the drama, he clung on to third overnight, 1min 24.4s adrift of Tänak.

Elfyn Evans remained a distant fourth after a steady but unspectacular day. The Toyota driver repeatedly described the conditions as “very rough” and ended the leg over three minutes off the lead – but with championship rival Thierry Neuville behind, Sunday’s bonus-point opportunities remain critical.

Further back, the Acropolis continued to punish. Kalle Rovanperä was running mid-pack before going off in SS11, while Takamoto Katsuta also slid wide and became beached during the same test. Both Toyota drivers retired for the day but are set to restart on Sunday.

It was another bruising leg for Neuville. After losing time to tyre damage in the morning, Hyundai’s defending FIA world champion fought back into fifth overall – though still over a minute behind Evans.

“We had the pace,” Neuville reflected. “But three punctures [this weekend] didn’t allow us to do what we can.”

Grégoire Munster completed the leg sixth despite struggling with a faulty handbrake on his Ford Puma Rally1 throughout the day.

Oliver Solberg continues to lead FIA WRC2 in seventh overall with a comfortable buffer over category Gus Greensmith, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Yohan Rossel.

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Josh McErlean dropped to 13th after nursing a broken rear driveshaft through two morning stages and completing the afternoon with no handbrake.

Kajetanowicz has maintained his advantage in FIA WRC2 Challenger with Turkey’s Ali Türkkan still ahead in FIA WRC3 and FIA Junior WRC. Miguel Granados tops the the FIA WRC Masters’ Cup order after Friday pacesetter Uğur Soylu dropped out.

EKO Acropolis Rally Greece concludes tomorrow (Sunday) with four stages over a competitive distance of 99.06 kilometres. The new 26.16-kilometre Smokovo stage is up first from 08h03 local time, while the event-deciding Tarzan Wolf Power Stage is due to begin at 14h15.