Spain's Dani Sordo snatched the narrowest of leads from world champion Sebastien Loeb and championship leader Mikko Hirvonen on Saturday to set the stage for a thrilling finish to the Rally of Australia.
Sordo finished the second day leading by just one-tenth of a second from Loeb and Hirvonen, who engaged in their own game of cat and mouse.
Frenchman Loeb led the rally by 11 seconds after the 22nd stage but deliberately slowed down to let Hirvonen overtake him on the 23rd stage, which decided the running order for Sunday's final day.
Although Sordo grabbed the overall lead at the end of the 25th stage, the last on Saturday, Finland's Hirvonen will be first on the road on Sunday, with Sordo second then Loeb third.
"I had no chance of clearing the road tomorrow so we had to do it," Loeb told reporters.
"At the moment we have good grip and a good feeling. It's okay. But I expected if I stayed in this position I will have no chance tomorrow - that's the problem."
Hirvonen, who leads Loeb by three points in this year's championship, was lucky to survive the day unscathed after twice hitting a roadside mailbox in his Ford.
"It was so slippery I was going all over the place and made lots of small mistakes," Hirvonen said. "It was not a good drive at all."
Overnight leader Jari-Matti Latvala fell back to fourth place, 44 seconds off the pace, after experiencing mechanical problems.
