Stage four proved dramatic when Ott Tänak lost the rear of his Hyundai i20 N and clipped a snowbank which spun him around nose first into a snowbank.
The car suffered front-end damage and Tänak is done for the day.
Seventh on the road, Rovanperä hit a snowbank 12.6km into the stage damaging his car and has retired from the morning loop.
It’s been snowing all day and the skies are leaden, making visibility challenging.
At the sharp end of the field, a huge fight is underway between the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris of Takamoto Katsuta and the Hyundai i20 N of Esapekka Lappi.
After stage four, with the leaders out, the Japanese driver lead the Finn by 11.4 seconds, which Lappi slashed to 5.3 after stage five and by stage six, the dueling drivers were 0.3 seconds apart!
The drive of the day so far has come from Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria, who hold third in their M-Sport Ford Puma.
Oliver Solberg is fifth overall in his Skoda WRC2 and only 2.8 seconds off Elfyn Evans in fourth. Georg Linnamäe and James Morgan, who set the second fastest time of anyone in stage six, is sixth overall in their Yaris WRC2
![Franco Colpinto [front] avoided Liam Lawson [back] at the start of the Australian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Franco-Colapinto-F1-Aus-GP-350x250.webp)
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