Gronholm fears for title chances

The Finn went off the road and hit a tree stump in SS4, which damaged his rollcage and forced him to retire from the event.

Gronholm compared the accident to the one he had in Australia last year, which eventually cost him the title as he chased down the points total of the injured Sebastien Loeb.

"The accident was similar to the one in Australia when I went off the road and hit some tree stumps," he said. "That cost me the title so I hope it works out a different way this season.

"The driver's title is still open, whatever the result here, but a non-finish obviously makes it more difficult."

The 39-year-old also explained that he had changed his pace notes for the corner where he went off during the pre-event recce.

"The accident happened at a third gear corner at a point in the stage where I changed my pace notes during the recce," he said.

"It's faster there this year because some trees have been cut down. The stage was covered with loose gravel and was slippery all the way through, and I slid wide and the right rear wheel hit some straw bales.

"The impact threw the car down a bank into a tree stump, and that impact was hard and on my door."

Loeb only needs to finish fourth in Japan this weekend to move into the lead of the drivers' standings, and the reigning world champion is currently second in the event behind Gronholm's teammate Mikko Hirvonen.