Jari-Matti Latvala has revealed that a front-suspension failure caused him to crash his Volkswagen Polo R earlier today - losing him the lead of YPF Rally Argentina.
The Finn was leading by 15.5sec from Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon when he hit trouble 21km into the repeated 38km stage from Los Gigantes.
"I was in a very fast section where there was a bit of bedrock on the road, and when we went over the bedrock suddenly the front-right top-mount broke and the damper came through the bonnet," he told wrc.com
"At that moment I couldn’t steer the car any more, we went into a bank and we rolled."
Latvala, winner of the previous round in Mexico, could not explain why the top mount had come off.
"I’m really disappointed but I don’t know what else I could have done," he said. "I had a good lead, it had been a controlled drive and I was in control on the stage. If I have to avoid every stone then we can go home - there is no point to come to the rally!
"You can’t avoid every rock if you try to win. And this wasn’t a loose rock, it was part of the road. I can’t understand how it breaks. But that’s how it is - very unlucky.
“My co-driver Miikka and I are both okay - that’s the main thing. The car is very strong and I have to thank the team for that."
Latvala does not expect to restart on Sunday.