Day 2, am: Gremlins strike

Gilles Panizzi had been running second up to that point, in the Bozian-run Peugeot 206, but the oil pressure mysteriously dropped and very soon the engine failed. The Frenchman made it most of the way through Special Stage Six (SS6) before the gremlins struck.

Rovanpera may have inherited second place from Pannizi but he also looked like he'd inherited the Frenchman's bad luck. The Finn explains: "My car's been overheating on every stage. It starts off well, then the temperatures rise and the engine goes onto safe setting. That means not much power, no anti-lag system, no air conditioning - the car just feels really lazy."

By now the gravel gladiators could be forgiven for shying off the leading positions - as jinxed as they seemed - but there was no place to hide. Both the Fords of Markko Martin and Francois Duval spookily went out with exactly the same problem as Panizzi and close to the same spot.

The supernatural forces then invaded Richard Burns' gearbox which, like a glass at a séance, started selecting whatever it pleased, seemingly at random. The entire hydraulic system will have to be changed at the next service, the Englishman is still circulating in sixth.

By contrast Citroen must have filled it's washer bottles with holy water, with Sebastien Loeb, Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz living a charmed existance, in third, fourth and fifth.

But there were no prayers or incantations sufficient for the luckless Tommi Makinen. The Finn broke a wheel and lost 40 minutes this morning, adding to his 10-minute loss with steering problems yesterday. He is still in the event but well out of the running.

Other casualties included Freddy Loix, whose Hyundai choked on dust in SS6! Stay tuned for the next chilling installment...