Navigating heavily rutted gravel roads in his Ford Fiesta Rally3, the Finn avoided taking unnecessary risks, instead letting Friday retirees William Creighton and Rautio Motorsport team-mate Benjamin Korhola fight it out for stage wins.
It proved to be a sage approach, seeing his lead over Frenchman Laurent Pellier slightly extend from 55.4sec at dawn to 56.5sec at dusk.
Having moved into second place on Friday afternoon, Pellier was unchallenged for his second spot on the podium, eventually completing the day 1min 2.8sec up on another Finn, Toni Herranen.
Finland
Italy
Hungary