The Welshman overhauled overnight leader Adrien Fourmaux to establish a 5.6sec advantage over his Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who jumped to second position as tyre strategies backfired for rival Hyundai drivers Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville.

Evans delivered a masterclass in wet-weather rallying across the morning's three stages, climbing from fifth to the rally lead as overnight rain and heavy morning showers transformed the Chilean forest roads into conditions reminiscent of Wales Rally GB.

"It was very average I would say," reflected Evans with typical understatement. "I'm trying not to slide too much, I was struggling already with the rears."

Ogier moved into second position after finding his rhythm on the longer stages. The eight-time champion had admitted to being "way too cautious" early in the loop before awakening to deliver back-to-back top-three stage times.

Fourmaux dropped to third after struggling with rear grip on the morning's longest test, losing 10.2sec to Evans on María Las Cruces alone. The Frenchman, who had led the rally since Friday’s final stage, saw his advantage evaporate as his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 struggled for traction.

"I had no rear grip, so I think the tyre on the rear was giving up," explained Fourmaux, who trailed Evans by 9.3sec at midday. “The balance of the car was quite tricky to drive.”

Neuville suffered an even more frustrating morning, dropping from second to fourth position after being too conservative with his tyres. The Belgian was the slowest of the Rally1 drivers on SS9 ended the loop 9.5sec behind team-mate Fourmaux.

Sami Pajari occupied fifth position in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, 28.1sec behind the leader, with championship contender Kalle Rovanperä climbing to sixth after winning SS9 in his similar car.

Takamoto Katsuta fell to eighth after a challenging morning that included a spin on SS8, with Grégoire Munster overtaking the Japanese driver to sit seventh for M-Sport Ford. Munster’s colleagues Josh McErlean and Alberto Heller failed to complete the day’s opening stage after being sidelined by technical problems.

With a new engine fitted to his Hyundai overnight, Ott Tänak restarted and won the opening two speed tests before retiring again to preserve the car for Super Sunday.