Loeb to rejoin on day two

The world champion retired from the first leg after rolling in SS4. Although he managed to get the Citroen back to service, Loeb stopped before the next stage when it became clear that the C4 was too badly damaged to continue at a competitive pace. He had already lost four minutes and dropped out of the top twenty.

"The team did its absolute best to make repairs, but we decided to call it a day because we didn't have a sump-guard, we were down on power and the clutch was playing up," Loeb said.

"The intercooler was damaged, too, and it's just not possible to carry a spare in the car all the time."

He added that had the field returned to the main service park for the midday break it would have been possible to repair the Citroen properly.

But today's itinerary featured only a remote service, where the regulations permit only four mechanics to work on the car using spares carried within the vehicle.

"Had we been able to service after the stage, I think we would have been able to continue," Loeb said.

"But rules are rules and we shouldn't have made the mistake. It's very frustrating, both for ourselves and for Citroen."

Having missed four stages today, Loeb will be 24 minutes behind the leaders when he rejoins on Saturday.