Stage 17: Burns and Sainz evenly matched

The gap between the pair remains 5.6s, the suggestion being that Burns can match whatever Sainz throws at him.

Tommi Makinen is now in virtual cruise mode, content to finish third and claim his fourth world title in a row.

The battle for the lower points positions is hotting up however. Ford's Thomas Radstrom is finally getting into his stride after a cautious start to the rally. The Finn has crashed several times on recent events and knows that he has lost his drive to Carlos Sainz next season, but has now taken fifth place from Harri Rovanpera.

The SEAT driver faces a threat from Marcus Gronholm too, the Peugeot 206 climbing steadily up the leaderboard and generally going quicker than everyone bar the two leaders.

Rovanpera's team-mate Toni Gardemeister has lost all hope of another points finish. A transmission problem forced him to drive through the whole of the 45km Wellington Dam stage with just two-wheel drive. He also lost time backing off to avoid delaying the leaders when they came to pass him. The Finn is now 20th, just ahead of countryman Tapio Laukkanen. The latter has recovered well after losing a lot of time with an 'off' on Friday.

With Neal Bates having rolled his Toyota and retired, Uwe Nittel is now the best of the non-factory cars, the Group N class leader running eighth. He is followed by Formula Two frontman Kenneth Eriksson, but the Hyundai driver has seen his lead eroded by Renault's Martin Rowe. The 1998 British series champion is now only 40s behind the Swede.

Positions after SS17, Brunswick: