Solberg rues costly brake problem

The Subaru was in third place, just 6.8 seconds from the rally lead, after the three morning stages.

But Solberg then picked up a 10 second penalty for leaving service late after issues with a brake caliper. He subsequently ran into severe brake problems during SS4, and by the end of the leg was down to sixth place, nearly a minute and a half off the pace.

"We got off to a really good start today, and after service we were going well too - matching the pace of Marcus (Gronholm) and Sebastien (Loeb) on the first couple of splits on SS4 - but then we lost the brakes and that ruined everything," said Solberg.

"I did my best in the circumstances, but with no brakes we had no chance and now we've dropped a long way back. From being in a position where we were fighting for the lead it's pretty frustrating, and I almost couldn't believe it, when I knew what was happening.

"Still, we've shown that we can be in the fight and tomorrow, when the car is back to 100 per cent I'll do all I can to get the time back."

Team managing director Graham Taylor praised Solberg's handling of the situation.

"We have to take our hats off to him for the way he managed to drive around the issue and then carry out interim repairs on the road sections," he said.

"Although he lost some time, the most important thing is that he is still in the rally in a points-scoring position."