Andreas Mikkelsen emerged as a surprise leader at the Rally Sweden after team-mates Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala encountered problems on stage nine on Friday.
Defending world champion Ogier established a lead of over nine seconds from fellow Volkswagen man Latvala - winner in Sweden last year - after stage five.
The Frenchman then had to contend with failed wipers and a cracked windscreen as Latvala reduced the gap to just one second by the end of stage seven, only to surrender some of that time back on the next run.
It appeared as though the momentum had swung in Latvala's favour when Ogier lost almost half a minute on stage nine after sliding into a snow bank.
However, the Finn suffered disappointment of his own towards the end of the same stage as he got stuck in a ditch and lost over eight minutes as spectators came over to help get his car back on the road.
Mikkelsen, winner of stage eight, was the main beneficiary and will take a lead of 19.1 seconds into Saturday's action ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).
Mads Ostberg (Citroen) had been locked in a battle for third with Mikkelsen before losing time on stage eight after veering into a bank of snow, but he remains in the podium places.
Ogier started his recovery by winning Friday's Super Special stage and he is still well in contention at just under 25 seconds adrift of Mikkelsen.