Sebastien Ogier managed to extend his Rally Mexico lead to three minutes into the final day, despite a major setback on SS18 when a closed gate cost the driver precious time.
The Volkswagen driver encountered a gate that had been closed prior to him coming through; co-driver Julien Ingrassia then leaped out to open it and the duo dropped 40 seconds. Organizers are investigating why the gate was shut.
Meanwhile, Mads Ostberg retired from second with a broken alternator on his Ford Fiesta RS. Then Mikko Hirvonen, who inherited second in his Citroen DS3, dropped two minutes with a puncture, therefore helping Ogier keep his lead.
Hirvonen is now second overall, just 8 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville, followed by Dani Sordo who enters the final day in fourth place and a consistent Nasser Al-Attiyah in fifth.
Leading positions after SS20: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Sebastien Ogier Volkswagen 3h38m42.2s 2. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 2m52.4s 3. Thierry Neuville M-Sport Ford + 2m59.9s 4. Dani Sordo Citroen + 4m45.2s 5. Nasser Al-Attiyah M-Sport Ford + 5m33.9s 6. Ken Block Hoonigan Ford + 8m57.1s 7. Chris Atkinson Abu Dhabi Citroen + 9m23.8s 8. Benito Guerra CRT Citroen + 10m00.9s 9. Martin Prokop Czech Ford + 11m22.3s 10. Evgeny Novikov M-Sport Ford + 15m41.9s