Jari-Matti Latvala ended day two of the Rally de Portugal on top after winning two of the five stages but Craig Breen saw his involvement in the race end due to engine problems.
Latvala steered his Volkswagen Polo R to the top of the standings with victory in stage four, and consolidated his advantage with second place on stage six and victory again in the final run of the day.
"Overall a good day," the Finn said on the WRC website. "Step by step I have been increasing my speed. I have to be satisfied with what we've done here."
Breen meanwhile lasted just 17k into the race as he was dealt a devastating blow when the car ground to a halt with engine trouble and caused their retirement.
Naturally unable to hide his disappointment Craig said: "The Splits were really good until that point, but just wasn't to be. We will come back stronger, that's for sure!” Craig resumes his European Rally Championship duties next time out with his Peugeot Rally."
Latvala was only fifth on the opening stage of the day, which was won by Dani Sordo despite the Spaniard complaining of a lack of power from his Hyundai i20.
Sordo briefly took over the overall lead of the rally from Latvala's team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen, but only by 0.1 seconds and Mikkelsen retook the lead on stage three through Camina.
Latvala's turn came after he dominated the fast stage four on the loose gravel, winning by 5.6 seconds to move from third to first, while Kris Meeke moved up to second overall with a third-placed finish in his Citroen DS3.
Organisers were forced to cancel stage five midway through due to ongoing forest fires in the area, and when the rally resumed with a second pass through Camina Sebastian Ogier became the fifth different stage winner in as many stages.
However, Latvala was only 2.6 seconds behind his team-mate, extending his advantage over Meeke to 7.4 seconds in the process.
Latvala then topped the time sheets again in stage seven, and with Meeke down in fourth place, he extended his overall lead to 11.1 seconds ahead of Saturday's action.
"I hope to take advantage of the road position," Latvala said, looking ahead. "It's been a hard time for me, so a good result would be good for the championship."
