Special Sunday leaving him poised on the brink of an eighth world rally title as his closest rival crashed,

Ogier’s opening stage win Sunday moved him over seven seconds clear of his only rival for the title Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans at this season ending rally.

Half a second separated the two at start of the third day but Evans stalled his car twice on the opening stage sending his slender title hopes smashing into the hay bales his car hit, costing him around 17 seconds.

“I locked up the brakes and couldn’t get the car turned and went into the bales and stalled. We had another stall later on too,” said the Welshman.

In real terms Ogier need only avoid crashing out as Evans came to Monza 17pts adrift of the Frenchman.

Technically with a maximum of 30 points still in play, Ogier must finish ahead of Evans or score at least 13 points to secure the title.