Solberg began the longest day of the rally 10.1 seconds ahead of Evans, but came under increasing pressure as Ogier won four of Saturday’s six stages and steadily reduced the gap to his Toyota team-mate.
The rally leader responded on the final 28.31-kilometre María las Cruces stage, setting the fastest time by 3.7 seconds over Evans and 4.7 seconds over Ogier. The result increased Solberg’s overnight advantage to 19.1 seconds with four stages remaining on Sunday.
“That is the key. Every time, every year. You have to wait with your tyres to the end then go flat out,” Solberg joked at the finish.
“We have a small gap which is very nice. I will do my very best on Sunday.”
Victory would give Solberg a third FIA World Rally Championship win. His first came on his Rally1 debut with Toyota in Estonia last season, before he opened the 2026 campaign with victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo. He has also won twice previously in Chile in WRC2.
Ogier set the pace through much of Saturday, winning Pelún and Lota during the morning loop as Solberg managed the loose road conditions and the balance of his GR Yaris Rally1.
The nine-time world champion continued his attack after midday service, again setting the fastest time on both Pelún and Lota to close further on Evans.
At the conclusion of SS11, only 0.3 seconds separated Evans and Ogier in the fight for second, while Solberg held a 15.4-second advantage at the head of the field.
Evans responded on the final stage of the day, finishing 1.0 second ahead of Ogier to retain second place by 1.3 seconds overnight.
“It was a clean drive,” Evans said. “We benefited from new tyres but the damage was done in the previous two stages. I can’t be fully satisfied with the afternoon. We hoped to be faster. We keep going.”
Ogier, who began Saturday in fourth position and 19.7 seconds from the lead, ends the day third and 20.4 seconds behind Solberg.
“It is fine,” he said. “It is going to be a nice Sunday.”
Adrien Fourmaux remains within reach of the podium in fourth, although a three-soft-tyre strategy on the final stage cost the Hyundai driver time and leaves him 10.7 seconds behind Ogier.
Sami Pajari completes the top five, 1min 15.5sec from the lead. The Finn, who won the previous three rounds in Estonia, Finland and Paraguay, struggled to find the pace he wanted throughout Saturday.
“Not so many stories to tell from today,” Pajari admitted. “We are not quite on the pace where we would like to be.
“There is a lot of discussion about road position playing a big role, but still at the end of the day the pace is not what we wanted. Hopefully we can be quicker in Super Sunday.”
The overnight order also has significant implications for the FIA WRC Drivers’ Championship.
Evans arrived in Chile with a 20-point advantage over Pajari, with Solberg a further 21 points behind. If the current classification remains unchanged, the base rally points would extend Evans’ advantage over Pajari to 27 points, while Solberg would move to within six points of Pajari in the fight for second before the Super Sunday and Wolf Power Stage points are added.
Toyota is also in position to secure the FIA WRC Manufacturers’ Championship on Sunday. The Japanese manufacturer arrived in Chile with a 173-point advantage over Hyundai and requiring only seven points from the event to make the title mathematically secure. With Evans and Ogier currently second and third, Toyota remains firmly on course to seal the championship.
Behind Pajari, Esapekka Lappi holds sixth position ahead of M-Sport Ford driver Josh McErlean.
Thierry Neuville will not restart on Sunday following his high-speed roll on Saturday morning, while Jon Armstrong was also forced to retire from the leg after rolling his Ford Puma Rally1 onto its side on SS8.
Yohan Rossel leads WRC2 after Friday leader Nikolay Gryazin retired following a roll on Saturday morning, with championship leader Robert Virves 58.0 seconds behind the Frenchman.
Sunday’s final leg features 71.2 competitive kilometres across four stages, with two runs each through Carampangue and Biobío. The second pass through Biobío will host the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage.
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