Thierry Neuville led the Rally of Belgium at the end of the first day on Friday after runaway championship leader Kalle Rovanpera crashed out on the second stage.
Belgian Neuville, 34, won all three afternoon stages to lead his Estonian Hyundai teammate Ott Tanak by 2.5 seconds.
"I feel like I have seen some areas where we can improve and get a bit more speed, but with this afternoon we can be very happy," said Neuville.
Toyota's Elfyn Evans was 13.7sec back after collecting a 10-second penalty for arriving late at the start of the final stage.
"There's that," the Welshman said.
"It's just not been a great afternoon. We had a slow puncture after the second stage, so we were having to use a rain tyre on this stage which was not ideal."
Finn Esapekka Lappi is a distant fourth, at 37.3sec in another Toyota, with 12 of the 20 stages remaining.
Rovanpera, who could have clinched the title if everything had gone his way this weekend, won the opening stage but crashed on the second.
The 21-year-old emerged unscathed along with co-pilot Jonne Halttunen when their Toyota flew into the air and rolled three times after going straight on into a field from a gentle left-hand corner and hitting a drainage ditch.
The pair raised their thumbs as they clambered out through the windshield of their battered car.
Eight stages are on the programme for the second day on Saturday.
The rally will finish on Sunday in the early afternoon with four more stages, including the power stage, where there are points at stake and Rovanpera could return from his crash.
STANDINGS
1. Thierry Neuville-Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL/Hyundai 49min 50.4sec
2. Ott Tanak-Martin Järveoja (EST/Hyundai) at 2.5sec
3. Elfyn Evans-Scott Martin (GBR/Toyota) 19.3
4. Esapekka Lappi-Janne Ferm (FIN/Toyota) at 37.3sec
5. Craig Breen-Paul Nagle (IRL/M-Sport Ford) 56.1
Stage winners
Thierry Neuville 5 (SS2, SS5, SS6, SS7, SS8)
Kalle Rovanpera 1 (SS1)
Ott Tanak 1 (SS 3)
Elfyn Evans 1 (SS4)