Sweden's Oliver Solberg was poised to become the youngest winner of the Monte Carlo Rally after the 24-year-old Toyota driver wrapped up Saturday's penultimate leg with a 59.3-second advantage.
If the Toyota driver stays ahead through Sunday's final four stages of the season-opener, he will break the age record set by French teammate and reigning champion Sebastien Ogier in 2009 when he was 25.
Solberg, whose parents are Norway's 2003 world champion Petter and Sweden's WRC Commission president Pernilla, lived dangerously on Saturday's stage 12 when he slid on some ice and went through a fence into a snow-covered field before returning to the road.
"I don’t know what happened, I was so careful the whole stage. I tried to follow the ruts and on the exit it was just full snow. I was very lucky to get out of it," he told the wrc.com website.
"I think everyone's been off a little bit everywhere, but I am in a good position. Let's see tomorrow. It's probably going to be another crazy day."
Teammate Elfyn Evans was second overall with Ogier, now a record 10-times Monte Carlo winner and nine-time world champion, completing the Toyota one-two-three.
Ogier was 26 seconds behind Evans in the slushy conditions on mountain asphalt roads in the Alps to the north of the Mediterranean principality.
Saturday's last super-special stage was held in Monaco using part of the Formula One grand prix circuit, the first time it has been used since 2008, with spectators watching in heavy rain.
The final day features 71.9km of competition, including two highlight runs over the Col de Turini, famed for switchback hairpin corners and precipitous roadside drops.