Mads Ostberg’s valiant attempt to drag his injured Citroen DS3 into the monster 53.69km Otates (SS13) ended in disappointment when he retired before the start.
The second-placed Norwegian broke the rear left suspension after hitting a bank in the previous Ibarrilla stage, and Ostberg and co-driver Jonas Andersson made a temporary repair at the finish.
They stopped again 7km into the liaison section to remove the left rear driveshaft and bleed the brakes. They reached the arrival control at Otates but the damage was too great to continue. The Citroen team confirmed he will restart tomorrow under Rally 2 regulations.
Also out on SS13 were Robert Kubica and Andreas Mikkelsen, who both rolled. Kubica planted his Ford Fiesta RS on its roof after 34km. It was his fourth accident of the rally after rolling on Friday and two incidents during the recce. Both the Pole and co-driver Maciej Szczepaniak were unhurt.
Mikkelsen rolled early in the stage when he cut a corner too sharply and his Polo R flipped over. He wanted to gain experience on his first appearance here but has completed only three stages after retiring on Friday, when he hit a rock and broke the rear suspension.