Toyota's Sebastien Ogier led Rally Italy in Sardinia on Friday after surging from third to first on the final stage of the first full day of action after rivals hit trouble.
Hyundai's reigning world champion Thierry Neuville retired on stage five after taking the lead on the fourth stage of the Olbia-based rally in northern Sardinia and then hitting an earth bank.
Adrien Fourmaux was in second place, 2.1 seconds behind eight-time world champion Ogier, with Hyundai teammate Ott Tanak third on the gravel tracks.
Last year's winner Tanak completed the leg with a damaged shock absorber and 5.2 seconds behind Fourmaux.
Toyota's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera was down in fifth place with championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans sixth after being the first driver to set out and effectively sweeping the road.
"It’s been a good day, for sure," commented Ogier. "I’ve done everything I could today, so I’m happy with that."
M-Sport Ford's Martins Sesks rolled out while teammates Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster retired with suspension damage in the morning action on the same new Telti-Calangianus-Berchidda stage that caught out Neuville later.
M-Sport expected at least two of the three to resume on Saturday.
"That stage where all the drama happened was very tricky,” said Ogier. "It’s super narrow and extremely fast. It’s always a surprise to see that many incidents, but it can happen very easily there."
The rally, round six of the championship, continues on Saturday with more than 120km of timed action.