Assisted by Limerick's Anthony Nestor, Boland has steered his NVD liveried Subaru Impreza WRC into third place overnight in the Tour of Flanders Rally in Belgium.

A mere five seconds ahead of the Wexfordian is Joost Boxoen of Belgium in a similar Subaru WRC, who pounced when Boland suffered a puncture during the afternoon.

Home driver Pieter Tsjoen leads in a Toyota Corolla WRC, and holds a 4:06 advantage over Boxoen, with Boland trailing the leader by four minutes, 11 seconds.

Live stage results can be obtained here.