There was high drama on Rally Australia’s fourth stage when Sebastien Loeb rolled his Citroen DS3 WRC into retirement.
Loeb was leading the world championship qualifier by 2.0s after winning Friday’s opening test but hit trouble barely a handful of kilometres into the gravel stage.
Both he and co-driver Daniel Elena are uninjured but it’s not clear how much damage their car has sustained.
The world champion’s exit hands team-mate Sebastien Ogier a lead of 10.4s over Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen heading to the final stage of this morning’s loop.
Ogier was third quickest through the stage, 5.8s slower than winner Petter Solberg, who has climbed to third in the overall classification.
Loeb’s last roll on a WRC event occurred on the second day of the Acropolis Rally in Greece in June 2009, exactly two years two months and 27 days ago.
Standings after SS4:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 30m54.6s |
| 02 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +10.4s |
| 03 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +13.3s |
| 04 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +26.8s |
| 05 | E. NOVIKOV / D. GIRAUDET | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +48.5s |
| 06 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m10.1s |
| 07 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m11.2s |
| 08 | P. VAN MERKSTEIJN / E. MOMBAERTS | Citroën DS3 WRC | +1m53.9s |
| 09 | H. PADDON / J. KENNARD | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | +2m18.1s |
| 10 | K. AL QASSIMI / M. ORR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +2m20.5s |
| 11 | M. KOSCIUSZKO / M. SZCZEPANIAK | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | +3m04.0s |
| 12 | O. SALIUK / P. CHEREPIN | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +3m14.5s |
| 13 | D. OLIVEIRA / C. MAGALHÃES | MINI WRC | +3m19.5s |
| 14 | N. QUINN / D. GREEN | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +3m31.9s |
| 15 | B. GUERRA / B. ROZADA | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | +3m36.0s |