Ogier completed the 20 stages with a time of 2:24.23.6 hours, leaving Elfyn Evans in second place, 9.7 seconds behind, with Neuville in third, 45.8 seconds behind.

This was Ogier's 59th victory in the World Rally Championship and the 100th podium of the Frenchman's career.

"It's a good number. I'm happy, of course. The most important thing is to go home with a win. It's a great number for us. It's good to see that we still have some speed," Ogier commented.

The eight-time world champion's triumph seemed anything but likely early this morning, as the Gallic driver started in third position, 11.6 seconds behind Neuville, who was leading.

The distance remained the same after the first stage of the day, but, in the second, the 'coup de théâtre' happened that shuffled the accounts of the Croatian race.

In a narrower area, Elfyn Evans hit the hill that flanked the road and spun, losing precious seconds in the fight for victory.

Right after, it was Neuville's turn to make an identical mistake, letting the car pass through a grassy area next to the asphalt and skidding off the road, losing even more time and even the rear wing of his Hyundai.

The command was thus handed over to Ogier, who did not waste the offer. Neuville, who was 10.2 behind, was never able to attack the top spots again due to the damage to his car.

The Belgian attributed the error to "a late note" from navigator Martijn Wydaeghe, although this was not noticeable in the images from inside the car.

"Drivers and co-drivers make mistakes, but it's frustrating," he stressed.

Neuville was not even able to be among the five fastest in the final power stage, missing the extra points awarded in the last stage, which was won, for the first time, by Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux (Ford Puma), ahead of Ott Tänak (Hyundai i20) and Ogier.

Japanese Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota Yaris) was the fastest in the 'super-Sunday', a new round of scoring introduced this season. The Japanese beat Tänak by 1.8 seconds in the four stages of the day, with Ogier in third, 7.1 seconds behind.

Evans was fifth and scored three extra points and Neuville seventh, also scoring one point.

Thus, the winner of the race, Ogier, was the one who scored the most points for the championship (21), while the second and third classified, Evans and Neuville, respectively, each got 19. Tänak, fourth classified in the Croatian race, scored 20.

Neuville thus remains in the lead, with 86 points, six more than Evans, who has 80. Fourmaux is third, with 59. Among the constructors, Toyota leads, with 176, against Hyundai's 169.

The Rally of Portugal is the next round, from May 09 to 12.

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