Drivers criticise stage conditions

The Duesaigues stage is used twice during leg two, and a large amount of gravel was pulled onto the stage during the morning passage.

"There's a lot of gravel and big stones everywhere," said rally leader Sebastien Loeb. "I think my steering is a bit bent.

"It was impossible to drive in conditions like this."

Fifth placed Jan Kopecky was equally unhappy.

"This stage was more like a gravel rally than a tarmac rally," he said. "To use this stage twice is a bit stupid, I think.

"This is very dangerous because you can get a puncture very easily and then you have two more long stages."

Stephane Sarrazin described SS10 as "really crazy", while Chris Atkinson opted for "very tricky" and Marcus Gronholm summarised the test as "a s*** stage."

Xavier Pons crashed out of third place in Duesaigues 2, and reports suggest that the amount of gravel on the road played a part in his accident.