Duval retires after a roll

Despite two rounds remaining after this week's Tour de Corse, the French team would have been crowned winners if Duval had remained fourth, with Sebastien Loeb leading.

The Belgian driver suffered brake problems yesterday, dropping him from second overall at the end of leg one, back to fourth last night.

Duval was poised to challenge Subaru's Petter Solberg for the final podium spot through today's final four stages. Furthermore, his chances of closing the 24.6-second gap between himself and the Norwegian improved with the continuation of the sunny, dry weather in the mountains outside of Ajaccio.

However, the Belgian Citroen driver was forced to retire following the roll in SS9, because the suspension was too badly damaged to continue.

The team will make a decision about whether they use the car in Catalunya - which starts in four days' time - when the car returns to service.

Should the Xsara WRC be beyond repair, the team will face a one-minute penalty for not using the same chassis on the two rallies.