SS19: Loeb retires

The Citroen driver had been nursing an engine problem since late yesterday afternoon, but was optimistic that he could get the car to the finish and hold onto his second place.

"We're putting water in the car at the end of every stage," Loeb had said at the service prior to SS18. "We're checking it all the time and looking for any warnings."

It is understood that Loeb's Xsara stopped immediately after finishing SS18 and has refused to restart.

His retirement moves Markko Martin and Toni Gardemeister into second and third, far behind the now dominant leader Petter Solberg.

Several other drivers have hit trouble in the final stages. Chris Atkinson lost 13 minutes after going off the road and getting stuck on some rocks on SS18. He had been just 0.4s away from passing Gigi Galli for the final point before the accident.

Skoda's Janne Tuohino - who had just picked up Atkinson's ninth place - is also out after crashing and removing his front right corner a few corners from the end of Rammen 2.

Harri Rovanpera may well lose his current fourth place to the chasing Henning Solberg. He is reporting gearbox problems on his Mitsubishi Lancer and expects to struggle through the final stage.