Andreas Mikkelsen led Kennards Hire Rally Australia on Friday night after heading the leaderboard for most of a hot and dusty day in New South Wales. Spurred on by the knowledge that he must win this final round of the FIA World Rally Championship to stand a realistic chance of securing the runners-up spot, Mikkelsen was 15.4sec ahead of Volkswagen Polo R team-mate Sébastien Ogier.

The Norwegian was quickly out of the blocks to win five of the opening six speed tests south of Coffs Harbour. He was 14.2sec clear at mid-leg service and eked out a few extra tenths when the roads were driven again.

It wasn’t all plain sailing as his charge was almost derailed in a bizarre incident. “A water bottle became stuck between my feet. I managed to catch it in a corner but it was a bit scary. I’m happy how the day turned out. We want to be second in the championship so we have to give it everything,” said Mikkelsen.

Thick gravel on the shire roads hampered the early starters, who swept the dirt away to leave a cleaner line for those behind. Third in the order was not ideal for Mikkelsen but he fared better than Ogier, who opened the road.

The world champion trailed in eighth initially, but climbed the order as rivals hit problems. Cleaner roads when the stages were repeated enabled the Frenchman to bounce back and claim second after four stage wins.

Thierry Neuville, Mikkelsen’s main rival for second in the standings, was third in a Hyundai i20. The Belgian struggled with wheelspin on the loose gravel but claimed a stage victory to end 7.1sec behind Ogier.