SS12: Makinen steps up the pace

The Mitsubishi driver had looked to be out of contention after two incidents cost him three places and over a minute, but he has now got ahead of Carlos Sainz to run third and is closing in on the leaders.

Richard Burns continues to top the leaderboard and is steadily edging away from second placed Didier Auriol, but his pace is no match for Makinen's at the moment and he will have to find something extra by the end of the day.

Juha Kankkunen is dropping back off the tail of the lead group, but still has plenty in hand over sixth-placed Harri Rovanpera.

In Group N, Toshihiro Arai could be on course for a very rare Subaru win in the class. Hamed Al Wahaibi had closed the gap on the Japanese driver all day, but Arai has been able to pull clear over the past two stages and now looks more secure in eighth place. With series leader Gustavo Trelles only fifth in class at the moment, his main rival Al Wahaibi will want to get ahead of Arai as soon as possible.

Positions after SS12: