Stage seven: Auriol forced to retire

The Toyota driver had led the rally until crashing on SS6. Though he rejoined, his engine was damaged and he had to retire.

If Makinen scores more than three points, the title is his, any less and Auriol still has a chance to snatch the honours on the Rally Great Britain at the end of this month, where he will have a hard time trying to beat local heroes Richard Burns and Colin McRae.

The latter continues to extend his lead in Australia, with Makinen in second but under increasing pressure from Carlos Sainz and Burns, both working their way into contention after slow starts to the rally.

Elsewhere, Francois Delecour's gearbox problems have yet to be fixed while Hyundai's hopes of grabbing the Formula Two title have been boosted after Renault's Tapio Laukkanen spent 11 minutes off the road on SS7.

Positions after SS7, Kevs: