Andreas Mikkelsen has extended his advantage following the second group of stages at Kennards Hire Rally Australia.
The Volkswagen driver claimed his fifth stage win of the event when the action resumed with a second run through the Utungen (7.78km) test at Coffs Harbour.
Mikkelsen continued his strong start by opening up a 16.8s overall lead after finishing inside the top three following passes through the Bakers Creek (16.75km), Northbank (8.42km) and Newry16 (10.49km) tests that opened the event this morning.
However, the talking point of the afternoon was the impressive rise of four-time world champion Sebastien Ogier, who went on to win Stages 8 and 9 to leap into second behind Mikkelsen.
Despite being first on the road, the Frenchman finished third on the first two stages of the sequence prior to his victories which propelled himself from fourth to second.
“I’ve pushed as much I could today so let’s see. Conditions were a bit better this afternoon, but still we’re not in the best position,” said Ogier.
“Tyre wear is high and normally we play good with this, so that’s the kind of things that can help us to compensate our road position.”
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville moved into third overall with his rise aided by a victory on Stage 7 (Bakers Creek).
The Belgian is 0.7s ahead of New Zealander Hayden Paddon who slipped from third after struggling with chronic tyre wear on his factory Hyundai i20 WRC.
Paddon finds himself 22.2s adrift of Mikkelsen after losing time on all four stages this afternoon.
The 29-year-old blamed the loss on his decision to push the tyre too hard, but he remains confident as the opening day heads toward its conclusion.
“We are still pretty close and it will be a good fight tomorrow, we are in a good position,” said Paddon.
“I think my tyres are wrestle than everyone else but it is my own fault . It is a lesson learned for next year.”
Mads Ostberg is the top M-Sport Ford runner in fifth ahead of team-mate Eric Camilli and Ott Tanak (Dmack Ford).
Hyundai’s Dani Sordo has dropped to eighth after incurring a 20 second penalty for arriving two minutes late at Stage 4 (Newry16) this morning.
Volkswagen’s Jari-Matti Latvala returned with a repaired Volkswagen Polo WRC after his crash on Stage 1.
The Finn managed to claw back some time but remains 7 minutes and 51 seconds adrift in 14th overall.
WRC2 star Esapekka Lappi has a lead of more than two minutes over Poland’s Hubert Ptaszek (Peugeot).
Meanwhile, top Australian runner Brendan Reeves suffered an exhaust issue that saw him stop at the end of Stage 7.
That honour has now been passed to Harry Bates, who is 13th overall.
However, Bates is 34.3s adrift of Simon Evans in the Australian Rally Championship class. Evans has elected against entering the WRC event and therefore does not appear on the overall timing screens.
The field will now complete two runs of the newly constructed 1.27km Destination NSW Super Special situated on the Coffs Harbour coast.
Results: Kennards Hire Rally Australia after Stage 9
VIDEO: Kennards Hire Rally Australia Stages 6-9 Highlights
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