Hyundai's world championship leader Thierry Neuville edged out Toyota's Elfyn Evans in a thrilling fight for the lead as the penultimate stage of the Croatia Rally ended with the top three drivers separated by 11.6 seconds on Saturday.

The Belgian finished 4.9 seconds ahead of Evans to take a provisional 18 points in the championship battle, while the Welshman earned 15 points after an eight-stage battle where the gap between the two never exceeded five seconds.