Sebastien Ogier leads the Monte Carlo Rally heading into Sunday's final leg after front-runner Thierry Neuville's hopes of victory were scuppered by a broken suspension.
Neuville had led from the start on Thursday night but damaged his Hyundai i20 Coupe's rear left suspension halfway through the final speed test during Saturday's penultimate leg.
Frenchman Ogier took full advantage to move 47.1 seconds ahead of closest rival and Ford Fiesta team-mate Ott Tanak and is now clear favourite for his fourth straight win.
"It was quite a slow left corner and on the exit the rear went wide and I hit something. I don't know what," Neuville told World Rally Championship's official website.
The Belgian lost 30 minutes while attempting to make repairs and limped home in 15th place.
"Thierry has driven a great rally, with fantastic speed," Ogier said.
"To drive the whole of Monte Carlo in these conditions at that speed is a hard challenge.
"Monte Carlo is a rally where you need luck. I wished him no bad luck, he did a great job."
Tanak heads Jari-Matti Latvala's Toyota Yaris by one minute 33.5 seconds.
Craig Breen climbed up to fourth in his Citroen C3 and Elfyn Evans, in his Fiesta, won three stages to climb up to sixth.
Source: PA
