Peugeot ends six-year run early

Gronholm was in third place on the event when his front-right suspension collapsed on SS7. He finished the stage, losing more than a minute, but stopped on the road section back to service in Perth to try to fix the damage.

He made some running repairs using some nuts taken off the three undamaged shock absorbers, but one wheel was still rubbing against the arch. With increasingly dense smoke coming from the affected wheel, Police forced Gronholm to end his rally on the spot on safety grounds.

"On the preceding stage, I touched a rock on the apex of a corner," Gronholm said. "At the end of the stage I checked for damage, but the suspension seemed to be fine: there was just a bit of damage to a wheel.

"After 12 kilometres of the following stage the front-right suspension suddenly collapsed on a right-hand corner. I really do not understand what could have happened, as I did not feel anything at all.

"It's a real shame to end what has been a fantastic career at Peugeot like this. I really wanted to win here, in order to finish with a 19th victory."

Gronholm's Peugeot teammate Daniel Carlsson had crashed his 307 on the SS3, and the Swede took the blame for the incident.

"It was the first time I was competing here and unfortunately the notes that I made during the recce were not correct," he said. "I arrived at a corner much too quickly and we started to roll. The car ended up on its wheels, but then it suddenly caught fire. We got out quickly before it went up completely."

With neither restarting the rally, Peugeot's six-year run in the WRC is now over. Since their full-time return in 2000, the French manufacturer took 27 victories in six seasons, scoring three manufacturers titles and two drivers titles with Marcus Gronholm.

Peugeot boss Jean Pierre Nicolas was extremely disappointed and critical of Carlsson.

He said: "Daniel Carlsson's mistake was unacceptable, given that we gave him very clear instructions to take away any pressure. It's very disappointing.

"We do not know the cause of Marcus Gronholm's problem for the moment. Sadly, it has deprived us of a victory that was entirely possible and hoped for by all our team. We were all extremely motivated before the start of our last participation in the World Rally Championship."