Sainz and McRae in rubber trouble

Home hero Carlos Sainz dropped from 3rd to 4th and out of contention for victory after suffering a puncture. Though hot on the heels of Freddy Loix, he is now nearly two minutes behind the leader.

Colin McRae also punctured a tyre and is now 20th, amid speculation he may withdraw from the event at the end of today's leg. Ford team mate Simon Jean-Joseph has now had to retire from the rally after his earlier hydraulic troubles. Both Skoda's have also dropped out.

Another retirement is Adruzilo Lopes, who had made great progress up the leaderboard today. Though he finished the stage in 9th overall, Lopes then crashed his Peugeot 306 down a ravine on the road section afterwards.

Bugalski's lead over Toyota's Didier Auriol now stands at 22s with just one stage to go before the overnight halt.

Leading positions after stage 13:

1. Philippe Bugalski Citroen Xsara 2h53m45.4s

2. Didier Auriol Toyota Corolla + 22.1s

3. Freddy Loix Mitsubishi Carisma + 1m50.6s

4. Carlos Sainz Toyota Corolla + 1m50.8s

5. Tommi Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer + 2m18.3s

6. Richard Burns Subaru Impreza + 3m12.3s

7. Juha Kankkunen Subaru Impreza + 3m19.0s

8. Bruno Thiry Subaru Impreza + 3m21.6s

9. Adruzilo Lopes Peugeot 306 + 3m33.8s

10. Oriol Gomez Renault Megane + 4m05.6s