With the worst of the loose gravel swept from Almodovar on the earlier pass (SS8) first on the road Sebastien Ogier faced less of a disadvantage on the repeat and was comfortably fastest on SS11, extending his rally lead to 28 seconds.
With the temperature nudging 24 degrees Celsius, tyre preservation was key through the 26km stage - the longest of the rally.
Petter Solberg was Ogier's closest challenger, recording a time 2.5sec slower, while Dani Sordo was third quickest, 2.1sec off the Norwegian's pace, to move up into second overall.
Stage Times:
Source: WRC
