Gronholm not giving up on title

The Finn started the event four points ahead of Sebastien Loeb with just two rallies remaining, but had to retire from third place after sliding into a wall in SS4 this morning.

Sebastien Loeb has subsequently moved into the lead of the rally, and looks set to take a six-point advantage into the season finale next month if he can stay on top in Ireland.

But while Gronholm admitted that the crash had seriously harmed his championship challenge, he was adamant that it was not over yet.

"It will be hard to lift the drivers' championship if Sebastien Loeb wins (in Ireland), but there are a lot of kilometres remaining here and on the final round in Great Britain so I'm not giving up hope yet," Gronholm said.

The former champion was briefly hospitalised after passing out following the accident. Both Gronholm and co-driver Timo Rautiainen were later given the all-clear after precautionary medical checks.

"The accident happened near the finish on a wide, right corner," said Gronholm.

"I braked for the bend but it was extremely slippery and the car skated off the road. I managed to turn it sideways before hitting a stone wall hard.

"It was a big, big impact because the car stopped immediately. Both wheels on my side of the car were ripped off.

"We were taken to hospital where we were both given a scan but that showed no problems. My neck is sore but otherwise I'm okay."