Summary Sebastien Ogier was forced out of the Acropolis Rally after running into mechanical problems.
LOUTRAKI (AFP) - World championship leader Sebastien Ogier of France was forced out of the Acropolis Rally on Friday after running into mechanical problems during the first special between Kineta and Pissia.
After posting the fastest time in the qualifying special, Ogier opted to start 11th and last of the top drivers but the move backfired as he failed to complete the opening 47.7km stage on punishing roads.
Exact details of the problem were not revealed by his Volkswagen team but the writing was on the wall when he was halted early in the special before retiring for good at the 26km mark.
Russian Evgueny Novikov has a 20sec lead in his Ford Fiesta over Citroen's Spanish driver Dani Sordo while Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala is a further 16secs back in a VW Polo-R.
Norwegian Mads Ostberg in the second Ford lost three minutes on the day and is out of contention after replacing a wheel while compatriot and former world champion Mikko Hirvonen in a Citroen saw his chances of a podium finish go up in smoke after losing nearly six minutes due to a steering problem.
"At the beginning of the stage we did a lot of switching between concrete and gravel and each time the surface changed we went over a step," explained a tearful Ostberg.
"I was going through a corner and onto a step when the wheel just fell off.
"There was no damage to the suspension or the steering. The only thing left on the hub was the bolt, the nuts and the cone where the wheel fits.
"Maybe it happened that I again hit something in the absolute worst possible angle with the tyre, I don't know." he added.
A second night special is scheduled for later on Friday.
