Edoardo Molinari birdied his first six holes to grab the second round lead away from his brother Francesco at the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain.
Resuming only joint 14th after an opening four under par 68, the older of The Ryder Cup Italians raced to ten under, two ahead of Francesco and overnight pacesetter Johan Edfors.
The European Tour record is eight birdies in a row, but 29 year old Edoardo parred the short 16th to end his run.
Francesco, meanwhile, produced matching birdies on the 11th and 12th to keep alive the possibility of another shoot-out between the pair. He was a playing partner on the last when his brother won both the Barclays Scottish Open and Johnnie Walker Championship last season.
Edfors, who set the course record with his 64, was among the day's later starters, but Padraig Harrington improved from two under to four under by picking up strokes at the 13th and 17th.
Edoardo Molinari followed his six birdies with six straight pars, missing a five foot birdie chance on the long third after playing a brilliant chip off a cart path.
His lead had been cut to one by then as brother Francesco did make his four at the third, while Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara joined Edfors in joint place just two behind.
