The world title will be decided on the last day of competition. After a dramatic Friday, Ogier holds sixth place and Evans sits eighth on the leaderboard.
In the virtual championship standings Ogier now leads Evans by just one point. This means that the Super Saturday points will almost certainly determine the champion of the season.
Both Toyota drivers encountered problems on Friday. Evans lost time with a tyre change in the morning, while Ogier suffered two punctures during the afternoon loop – although the Frenchman did not need to stop to fit a new wheel.
Between the two title contenders is Sami Pajari, who dropped out of the fight for victory due to a puncture. As a result, Ogier has a slightly better starting spot than Evans for Saturday, when points are awarded from the day’s classification and the Power Stage.
“We have to just give it the best shot we can and see what happens. It’s a shame for Sami falling in between us. Otherwise, it would have been really nice if we were all within one position on the road to each other,” Evans said in good spirits.
“But anyway, that doesn’t matter. We’ll just try our best tomorrow and see what comes,” the Welshman added.
Hankook tyres were heavily damaged throughout Friday on the rocky desert roads of Saudi Arabia, and the risk of punctures remains high on the final day as well.
But Evans, chasing his first world title, cannot afford to hold back.
“It looks like it’s all going to come down anyway to Saturday. So it’s quite straightforward I guess. Obviously everything’s still pretty close and still within reach,” Evans said.
A fierce battle for overall victory will also take place on Saturday. Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks and reigning champion Thierry Neuville are separated by just 5.8 seconds ahead of the final three stages.
