The Queenslander produced a superb drive across the six testing stages, winning the fifth stage of the day, to increase his buffer to 20 seconds over the fourth-placed Francois Duval going into the final day.
Sebastien Loeb looks set to win the rally. He holds a commanding two minutes 10.6 second advantage over Mikko Hirvonen with Atkinson a further 52 seconds back in third.
Daniel Sordo, who was second overnight, was forced to retire from the event, opening the door for Atkinson to move into the top three.
The Australian was fast across the day’s 133 competitive kilometres, winning SS13 by 7.5 seconds, taking a second in another stage and finishing third fastest on two other stages. He actually closed the gap on Hirvonen across the day, but his real battle was with Duval.
The duo continued to trade split times in an enthralling display of commitment and finesse on the incredibly demanding roads. On the tricky surfaces, Atkinson drove in a determined and measured way on the greasy asphalt to stay ahead and keep his hopes of a podium finish alive.
“We were pushing today, and it was so tough,” Atkinson said. “The adrenaline and pressure has been huge.”
“Some say that SS10 is the most dangerous stage as it’s so fast and flowing, but I love it. I won the stage last year and on the second pass today (SS13) I was pushing to increase the gap over Duval. I had a good feeling through there, but I was still buzzing half an hour afterwards.”
“It’s great to be in third, but we have some difficult stages tomorrow, especially the Col de Turini. It’s a stage that can be dry until you start and then spectators put snow on the road which just makes it so hard to know what to expect going into each corner.”
“Duval knows it a little better than I do, so it’s going to be a challenge but I want third and we’ll be pushing hard to the end.”
The fourth and final day of competition in Rallye Monte Carlo is run from a service park in Monaco. The crews made the four hour journey from Valence to the principality after completing Saturday’s stages.
The day features two remote services, but a total of five stages without a full service, so it will be extremely challenging. On the classic Col de Turini, the roads are winding and technical and with temperatures dropping below zero, conditions will again be tricky.
The rally is concluded by a high-speed blast along the harbour section of the famed Grand Prix circuit in Monaco.
Rallye Monte Carlo - Results after day three
1. Loeb / Elena, Citroen C4, 2h 50m 38.8s
2. Hirvonen / Lehtinen, Ford Focus RS WRC07, +2m 10.6s (diff. to 1st)
3. Atkinson / Prévot, Subaru Impreza WRC2007, +3m 02.6s
4. Duval / Chevailler, Ford Focus RS WRC07, +3m 22.7s
5. Solberg / Mills, Subaru Impreza WRC2007, +4m 11.8s
6. Galli / Bernacchini, Ford Focus RS WRC07, +7m 39.7s
7. Cuoq / Janvier, Peugeot 307 WRC, +8m 19.7s
8., Andersson / Andersson, Suzuki SX4, +9m 31.8s
9. Solberg / Menkerud, Ford Focus RS WRC07, +11m 17.0s
10. Gardemeister / Tuominen, Suzuki SX4, +11m 23.4s
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
