As the event moved into the forest stages, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja—who entered the rally having taken three consecutive victories—dominanted the early running. He won five of the eight stages and established a comfortable lead to end the day twenty-eight seconds ahead of Neuville and Gilsoul. Tänak had been closely matched by defending rally winners Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt until their Fiesta WRC developed a misfire and was forced to retire from the leg. Latvala and Anttila dropped down to third overall after losing their rhythm in the afternoon loop. Lappi and Ferm recovered from an early spin to finish fourth, while Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia completed the leg in fifth. Ogier and Ingrassia had fallen to eighth during the first pass over the stages when they suffered a series of spins and the loss of first and second gear. Their M-Sport Ford teammates Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula completed the team's woes when they slid off the road and into a ditch; Suninen and Markkula were unable to re-enter the rally. Craig Breen and Scott Martin were the lead Citroën crew in sixth after enjoying a trouble-free day, ahead of Hyundai crews led Hayden Paddon and Sebastian Marshall in seventh and Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger-Synnevaag in eighth. Both Paddon and Mikkelsen complained of unpredictable handling in their cars, particularly during the afternoon loop of stages when rain affected the profile of the roads. Neuville, by comparison, reported that his car's handling improved in the afternoon, benefiting from a new specification of tyre provided by Michelin that offered improved grip whilst being more durable than previous tyres. Citroën's Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the last of the drivers in a World Rally Car-specification entry, finishing the leg in ninth place. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja continued their form through the opening stages of the second leg until they were forced to retire. Tänak damaged his radiator after a heavy landing off a jump during the second pass through Sweet Lamb Hafren. Tänak and Järveoja had experienced similar retirements in the Rallies of Portugal and Sardinia. Ogier and Ingrassia experienced a resurgence, climbing from fifth place to take the lead; however, Ogier chose the more-durable medium compound tyres as the dry gravel would damage the faster soft compound, and was unable to build a lead of his own.