Elfyn Evans survived a massive scare on the final Wolf Power stage to finish second in Rally Italia Sardegna.

His Toyota Yaris cut out after the water splash, and he dropped nearly 20 seconds trying to restart it, leaving the Dolgellau man relieved to hold onto second position.

Elfyn said: "It took in some water and took a while to clear. Thankfully we got back on four cylinders and at least we were able to continue. Not the nicest feeling.”

Finishing second, 46 seconds behind Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Sebastien Ogier after seeing the performance of his car improve as the weekend wore on, Eflyn added: “A great result. Not the start of the weekend we wanted, and that’s really when the damage was done

“It’s been a good weekend for the team, and we can be pleased about that, it’s just a shame we won’t have any points now in the power stage."

Ogier took the lead on Saturday after a disastrous day for Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tänak and Dani Sordo.

Tänak was 40 seconds clear when he thumped a rock and shattered his i20 World Rally Car’s rear left suspension this morning.

It was the second successive rally from which Tänak has retired whilst leading after suffering similar heartbreak in Portugal last month.

His demise left Ogier ahead after he had earlier relegated Sordo from second.

Sordo’s day came to a violent end in the penultimate speed test when he ran wide, clipped a culvert and rolled. The impact ripped the right rear wheel off and he, too, was out.

Ogier said: “It’s been an incredible weekend. Coming here first on the road, we were thinking we better stay home. We did a good job in the test and the car was working much better than in Portugal.

"We had an amazing day on Friday, and yesterday we managed to climb back up to the top. For sure, it’s good for the championship.

"I had a misfire for a long time after the water splash. We survived, but lost a couple of seconds there. A very good weekend."

Rally Italia Sardegna final standings:

1 Sebastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing, 3hr 19min 26.4sec

2. Elfyn Evans, Toyota Gazoo Racing, +46 seconds

3. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport, +1minute 5.2 seconds

4. Takamoto Katsuta,Toyota Gazoo Racing, +6 minutes 11.2 seconds

5. Jari Huttunen (WRC2), Huyndai Motorsport, +9 minutes 31.7 seconds

6. Mads Østberg (WRC2), Citroën Racing, +9 minutes 39.2 seconds