Reigning World Champion Sébastien Ogier captured the lead of the Rallye Monte Carlo after Thierry Neuville sustained suspension damage on the last of Saturday’s five stages.
Hyundai driver Neuville had controlled the event from the outset and entered the second full day of action with an advantage of 45 seconds over Ogier.
Neuville extended his lead to a minute after SS9 and SS10, with the Belgian quickest through the first stage, before Elfyn Evans clocked the fastest time on the next run.
Ogier took time out of Neuville’s lead through SS11 and SS12, but the Hyundai driver still held a 51-second advantage heading into Saturday afternoon’s sole stage.
However, Neuville sustained damage midway through SS13 and had to stop to make repairs, losing 33 minutes, dropping to 15th in the process.
"I did a mistake and went a bit wide in a corner," Neuville posted on social media, having nursed his crabbing i20 to the finish.
"It was a lot of gravel in there, we hit something and broke the suspension of our car. We are very disappointed and I feel really sorry for the team, who did an amazing job this weekend."
As a result of Neuville’s woes, Ogier now heads M-Sport team-mate Ott Tänak by 47.1 seconds, as the Cumbrian squad chases its first win since 2012.
“I'm sorry for Thierry – he was doing such a good job, with fabulous speed so far,” said Ogier, who has to negotiate four stages on Sunday in order to deliver victory on his M-Sport debut.
“We got some luck this weekend, some small mistake in here too, I touched a bank again, but nothing special.”
Neuville’s late drama elevated Jari-Matti Latvala to third place, the Finn now poised for a podium upon Toyota’s return to the category, albeit over 90 seconds adrift of Tänak.
Hyundai’s Dani Sordo initially edged clear of Citroën rival Craig Breen but a power steering issue on SS13 cost him around a minute, elevating Breen into fourth, though some way back from Latvala.
Evans capped a fine day with the quickest time through SS13, meaning he topped three of the day’s five stages, and occupies a lonely sixth place overall.
Andrea Mikkelsen holds seventh and looks set for WRC2 honours, three minutes clear of Skoda team-mate Jan Kopecký, with Bryan Bouffier and Pontus Tidemand completing the top 10.
Neuville will still have the opportunity to pick up points from Sunday's Power Stage should he make it back to the service park.
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