Leader Loeb forced out
World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Loeb has been forced to retire from Rally Mexico. The Frenchman was dominating the event but lost oil pressure after hitting a rock, and the damage to his Citroen's sump was too severe to continue
Loeb's Citroen Xsara WRC hit a rock at the end of SS6. The Frenchman reported dropping oil pressure and he stopped to assess the damage before continuing, but he failed to complete the next stage.
Retirement ended Loeb's hopes of entering the record books as the only man to win the first three rallies of the season. However, he's likely to retain at least joint leadership of the drivers' championship. Only Marcus Gronholm was close enough before the event to overtake the Frenchman, but the Finn has big problems of his own with the power steering on his Peugeot 307 WRC.
Should Ford's Markko Martin retain the lead of Rally Mexico until Sunday night, he would join Loeb at the top of the table on 20 points.
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