(Reuters) - Thierry Neuville's hopes of celebrating his first world rally championship on Sunday took a knock after the Hyundai driver ended the penultimate day of the Central European round in fourth place after leading overnight.
The Belgian had a 6.4 second advantage on Saturday morning but two off-road incidents dropped him down the field and he ended the day 39.8 seconds behind Toyota's leader and eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier.
Hyundai's Ott Tanak was in second place with Toyota's Elfyn Evans third in the asphalt event that runs through Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany.
Neuville can secure the title with one rally to spare if he finishes two points clear of closest rival Tanak.
"Obviously there is disappointment but the rally isn't over and tomorrow is an exciting day," said Neuville.
"We paid the price, it was a mistake in the recce for the pace note," he added, explaining the costly error that saw him take the corner too fast and slip into a ditch.
There are four more stages on Sunday.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Austin, editing by...)
