With three special stages behind, Tänak has fallen half a minute behind the leader, currently holding fourth place. His teammate Thierry Neuville has had a much better start, leading the tarmac event.
After the second special stage, Tänak was already complaining about the setup of his car. On the third stage, he was still lost, trailing Neuville by a significant 11 seconds, despite the stage being only ten kilometers long.
Neuville has been in fine form in the morning’s special stages. He beat Toyota’s Elfyn Evans by 3.5 seconds on the third stage, extending his overall lead to 8.4 seconds over the Welshman.
Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is driving in third place, ahead of Tänak. M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux is right behind Tänak in fifth place.
Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta has not been able to keep up with the pace at the start of the rally, as the Japanese driver has already fallen a minute behind Neuville. Behind him among the top class drivers are Andreas Mikkelsen and Gregoire Munster.
Five more special stages are scheduled for Friday at the Croatia Rally. The event concludes on Sunday.
Current standings at Croatia Rally after SS3/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 23:38.6 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +8.4 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +21.2 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +30.1 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +31.4 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:00.1 |
| 7. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +1:22.8 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:34.6 |
| 9. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +1:38.0 |
| 10. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +1:49.4 |
Croatia Rally itinerary (CET):
Thursday, April 18 09:01 Shakedown: Okić (3.65 km) Friday, April 19 08:28 SS1: Krašić - Sošice 1 (23.63 km) 09:41 SS2: Jaškovo - Mali Modruš Potok 1 (9.48 km) 10:39 SS3: Ravna Gora - Skrad 1 (10.13 km) 11:47 SS4: Platak 1 (16.63 km) 14:02 Tyre fitting zone (15 min) 14:45 SS5: Platak 2 (16.63 km) 15:58 SS6: Ravna Gora - Skrad 2 (10.13 km) 17:16 SS7: Jaškovo - Mali Modruš Potok 2 (9.48 km) 18:09 SS8: Krašić - Sošice 2 (23.63 km) Saturday, April 20 07:31 SS9: Smerovišće - Grdanjci 1 (15.72 km) 08:24 SS10: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 1 (20.77 km) 10:05 SS11: Vinski Vrh - Duga Resa 1 (8.78 km) 11:03 SS12: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 1 (9.11 km) 13:03 Service (40 min) 14:31 SS13: Smerovišće - Grdanjci 2 (15.72 km) 15:24 SS14: Stojdraga - Gornja Vas 2 (20.77 km) 17:05 SS15: Vinski Vrh - Duga Resa 2 (8.78 km) 18:03 SS16: Pećurkovo Brdo - Mrežnički Novaki 2 (9.11 km) Sunday, April 21 07:08 SS17: Trakošćan - Vrbno 1 (13.15 km) 08:35 SS18: Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec 1 (14.24 km) 10:23 SS19: Trakošćan - Vrbno 2 (13.15 km) 13:15 SS20: Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec 2 (14.24 km) *Power Stage
