Portugal WRC: Meeke extends lead as Paddon and Tanak roll

The duo crashed only a couple of meters away from each other in SS5, the Hyundai driver's car landing upside down and catching on fire.

With the stage suspended afterwards, only nine cars were able to set a competitive pace throughout the stage - and Meeke was not one of them.

As such, with the Northern Irishman getting a provisional time from the stewards, the lead went to Dani Sordo.

The Spaniard kept first in the subsequent stage too, only to narrowly fall behind Ogier with a puncture in SS7.

Still, it was Meeke returning to the top at the end of the loop, his SS5 time altered and the stewards handing him the stage win in that run in addition to his quickest times in SS6 and SS7.

Ogier and Sordo are separated by 3.8s for second, with Andreas Mikkelsen close behind.

Hyundai's Thierry Neuville and Citroen's Stephane Lefebvre completed the top six, the former siuffering a puncture in SS7.

Mads Ostberg became the top Ford driver after Tanak's crash and now runs seventh, leading fellow M-Sport driver Eric Camilli by half a minute.

Jari-Matti Latvala lost his power steering after hitting a hole in SS5 and is only eighth, more than three minutes behind Meeke.

Another victim of the Friday afternoon loop was Henning Solberg, who stopped in the final stage.

Standings after SS4: