Pieri shunt puts Dominguez top in WRC3

Renault Clio hotshot Pieri had led the category with two stage wins in both the morning and the afternoon under his belt. He and co-driver Alexis Maillefert were unhurt in their barrel roll in SS7, but are unlikely to return to action on Saturday.

And it wasn’t just Pieri who was down on his luck. Compatriot Tristan Charpentier posed a top-six threat but retired his Ford Fiesta after suffering three damaged tyres whilst only carrying two spare wheels in the afternoon.

Diego Dominguez replaced Pieri at the top of the category after battling with fellow South American runner Bruno Bulacia for the coveted top spot.

With two stage wins recorded today, the Paraguayan sits 6.8sec clear of Bulacia, the duo swapping places late in the day after the Bolivian dropped 14.5sec in SS9.

Mattéo Chatillon rounded out the early podium, the French star winning two stages today as he pushed his Clio to the limit. He sits 4.7sec clear of SS2 winner Jan Ćerny going into Saturday's loop of stages, while Ghjuvanni Rossi and Croatian runner Slaven Sekuljica fill out the remainder of the top six.