Wilson: Latvala error a massive blow

Latvala slid off the road after braking too late for a right-hander mid-way through the final stage of the day. The Finn dropped out of the lead and ended the day in 11th place.

Unfortunately for the Ford team, the accident happened too late for it to get a message to Latvala's team-mate Mikko Hirvonen to tell him to slow down to avoid running first on the road tomorrow.

"Everything was looking perfect until halfway through that stage," said Wilson. "Everything was looking good for another one-two. It's not now is it?

"I would have to class this as one of his biggest mistakes. Jari has put the team firmly on the back foot, above all it was the timing of the mistake, that was the worst I've ever known. There was nothing we could do. Our realistic hopes in this rally have now departed."

Hirvonen was frustrated by the position he had been left in - with the Finn also unusually outspoken about his team-mate. When asked how he felt, Hirvonen replied: "I should have guessed..."

He added that Latvala's mistake allied to Citroen's deployment of tactics to drop Dani Sordo into second place left him little option for tomorrow.

"All I can do is drive flat out," he said. "Unfortunately, tomorrow is going to be even harder to be first on the road, it's going to be hard on the tyres. There's nothing I can do. It's very frustrating."