SS21 0733hrs Atkins 1 (4.42km)
Following a 10 minute service in Perth Leg three started at the short Atkins stage east of the host city. After a quick start, at the one kilometre point crews went through a series of narrow left bends before a steep uphill left hairpin bend one kilometre from the finish. Fastest once again was Subaru’s Chris Atkinson, who won his seventh stage of the event, to grab fifth position from Gigi Galli. Ford’s Roman Kresta spun and stalled the engine, losing around 40secs, and dropped to eighth behind team-mate Gardemeister, while Harri Rovanpera closed the gap to second-placed McRae to 3.5secs.
Fastest Time: Atkinson (Subaru) 2:59.6

SS22 0803hrs Helena North 1 (29.93km)
At just under 30km, Helena North was the longest stage of the rally. Made of two 2004 stages joined together, the rollercoaster speed test featured a very fast start, a series of dips and crests and a big sixth gear jump at the finish. Overnight leader François Duval took his first stage win of the Leg, but there was a change in the top three as Harri Rovanpera moved ahead of Colin McRae into second. Atkinson continued his charge up the leaderboard with the second fastest stage time and closed the gap to fourth-placed Manfred Stohl to just over 25secs with four competitive tests left to run. Toni Gardemeister also moved into the top six as Galli finished the stage over 37secs slower than Duval.
Fastest Time: Duval (Citroen) 17:13.2

SS23 0844hrs Helena South 1 (17.31km)
Set in the same forest as the previous Helena North, part of the third stage of Leg three ran alongside the Mundaring dam. All crews reported that the road was incredibly slippery with lots of loose gravel covering the surface, putting the first crews at a disadvantage as they were obliged to sweep away the marble like surface for those following. Harri Rovanpera benefited from his starting position of eighth to take his first stage win of the day, just 0.2secs ahead of Atkinson, as he consolidated his newly-won second place. The gap between Atkinson and Stohl narrowed slightly to just over 22secs while Duval continued to lead the rally by 36secs.
Fastest Time: Rovanpera (Mitsubishi) 9:09.4

Driver Quotes - Service H (after SS23)

Chris Atkinson:

It’s not been easy out there today. Although on paper the times have been OK we could have been much quicker but the car’s not handling quite as it should. We changed the rear diff yesterday night and now the car’s not turning into the corners quite as well and our lines aren’t as smooth as they could be. It’s good to still be making up places and I’ve got my sights set on Stohl now – I’ll do the best I can.

SS24 1133hrs Atkins 2 (4.42km)
After fighting for second position throughout Legs two and three, Scottish driver Colin McRae was forced into retirement in the service between stages. A routine clutch change proved to be longer and more problematic than anticipated and the Skoda crew failed to check out from service within the time limit. McRae’s retirement elevated the rest of the field up one position. Toni Gardemeister and Atkinson took a joint stage win with identical times, the first victory for the new evolution Ford Focus. The closely-matched duel between newly promoted Stohl and Atkinson in third and fourth places respectively intensified as Atkinson took more time out of the Citroen driver’s advantage.
Fastest Time: Gardemeister (Ford) / Atkinson (Subaru) 2:57.2

SS25 1203hrs Helena North 2 (29.93km)
With two stages remaining, all eyes were on the battle that raged for third place between Atkinson and Stohl. The young Australian started the stage 22secs behind but was fastest at every split time point and closed the gap to eight seconds at the finish. Toni Gardemeister stopped off the road with a water pump drive belt failure, which moved Galli and Kresta to fifth and sixth and Spaniard Dani Sola into the final points scoring position. Ford’s Czech driver Kresta was less than a second slower than Atkinson through the 30km stage, with Duval third.
Fastest Time: Atkinson (Subaru) 17:04.5

SS26 1244hrs Helena South 2 (17.31km)
Chris Atkinson once more set a highly competitive time through the 17km stage in his battle with Stohl. The Subaru driver’s efforts closed the gap to just six seconds, but Stohl did enough to retain third position. Citroen’s François Duval recorded the third fastest stage time to score his maiden WRC win, more than 50secs ahead of second-placed Harri Rovanpera. Gigi Galli took fifth behind Stohl and Atkinson, with Kresta taking three points for the Focus on its debut. The top eight was completed by Sola and Schwarz, who scored the final point on his last-ever WRC event.
Fastest Time: Kresta (Ford) 8:59.6