Zagreb (AFP) - Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera stayed on course for victory in the Rally of Croatia on Saturday after a dramatic day which saw one stage cancelled and another cut short in deteriorating weather conditions.

Toyota driver Rovanpera, 21, who won last time out in Sweden, has a 20-second lead over 2019 world champion Ott Tanak of Estonia in a Hyundai.

However, he had led overnight by 90 seconds before a puncture and a Tanak fightback cut his advantage.

“You have to be lucky with punctures in a rally like this,” said Rovanpera. “And you also have to score big points on Sunday.”

The ninth stage was neutralised in the morning following an off-road excursion by Oliver Solberg in a Hyundai. Neither Solberg nor his co-driver Elliott Edmondson were hurt.

The 15th stage was abandoned at the end of the afternoon “for safety reasons” as visibility worsened.

“In these conditions you don’t care about the time, you’re just happy to make it through. It was like a different place in the world. This afternoon I didn’t have a good feeling to really push to the limits,” said Tanak.

Belgium’s Thierry Neuville, in another Hyundai, was penalised one minute for speeding, during a late meeting of the stewards.

He dropped from second to fourth place in the standings.

Standings

1. Kalle Rovanpera-Jonne Halttunen (FIN/Toyota) 2h14:54.5, 2. Ott Tanak-Martin Jarveoja (EST/Hyundai) at 19.9, 3. Craig Breen-Paul Nagle (IRL/M-Sport Ford) 1:13.4, 4. Thierry Neuville-Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL/Hyundai) 1:18.3, 5. Elfyn Evans-Scott Martin (GBR/Toyota) 2:08.2, 6. Takamoto Katsuta-Aaron Johnston (JPN-IRL/Toyota) 5:47.7, 7. Yohan Rossel-Valentin Sarreaud (FRA/Citroen C3) 8:24.6

Stage winners: Rovanpera (SS1, SS2, SS4, SS5, SS6, SS7, SS16), Evans (SS3, SS9), Neuville (SS8, SS12), Lappi (SS10, SS13, SS14), Tanak ES11)