Day 3, am: Gronholm leads, Martin out

Gronholm is looking stronger than anyone else at this point in the rally, so for Martin it was, in any case, a 'do or die' situation. The leading margin has increased to over 20 seconds making the battle for second place, between Sainz and Richard Burns, the focal point - with just 0.5s separating the two! Richard Burns moved ahead of Sainz as the morning wore on, but neither could catch Gronholm.

The rate of attrition has been relatively low here, prompting a surprise move from the Subaru World Rally team. Team boss David Lapworth has withdrawn Tommi Makinen's challenge, preferring instead to use some of the remaining running as testing for the next round in Greece. The Finn was running down in 13th after enduring gearbox problems on Day One.

"As there was no opportunity for him to fight for the lead of the event anymore, the team and Tommi decided that the best policy for Leg two was to carry on, see what happened to the cars ahead, and do some testing ahead of Greece," said Lapworth.