Hyundai driver Paddon held on for all of Friday and through Saturday morning under increasing pressure from the Volkswagens. A spin for Paddon on the afternoon's first full-length stage finally handed Ogier the lead, with the Hyundai driver resuming 12 seconds adrift and admitting it was then time to "cruise" and keep second. But that mission soon became much harder when an impact with a rock on the next stage caused transmission damage to Paddon's i20. He carried out roadside repairs to enable him to tackle the 26-mile Monte Lerno stage at reduced speed, falling 2m13.6s adrift of Ogier. That problem might have cost Paddon second given the rate at which Mads Ostberg was closing...
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