Ireland’s Craig Breen has moved up to fourth place after 13 stages of WRC Rally of Monte Carlo.
Brreen, of Citroën Total Abu Dhabi, kept out of danger in the DS3 WRC to maintain pace with the new spec WRC cars.
M-Sport's Sebastien Ogier surged into the lead after overnight pacesetter Thierry Neuville lost considerable time because of a mechanical problem.
The four-time French world champion, who was trailing by 51 seconds before the 13th stage, moved to the top of the standings with a 47.1-second advantage over Estonian team mate Ott Tanak.
Belgian Neuville was forced to halt midway through the final stage in order to repair a damaged rear suspension in his Hyundai. By the time he was back on the road, he had lost almost 33 minutes to stage winner Elfyn Evans of Britain.
Neuville dropped to 15th, 32:04.7 behind Ogier.
The Monte Carlo Rally, the opening leg of the world championship, ends on Sunday and begins at 8.22am Irish time.
