Jari-Matti Latvala has retired from the the Rally of Portugal following a crash on Friday's second leg.
Substantial overnight rain made the opening Tavira stage incredibly treacherous, with a large number of cars stopping on the stage. Leg one leader Latvala was one of them, putting his Ford off the road near the finish. The incident is Latvala's third in four rallies this year.
It had been hoped that the Finn might get the car back on the road, but the police in the stage would not allowing spectators to help.
A Ford spokesman said: "Jari-Matti reported that he hit a rock in a corner, which threw him off the road. The car is at 45 degrees in a ditch and it's not going to be possible to get it back on the road. We don't know what the damage is to the suspension, or the rest of the car."
Latvala's exit put his Ford teammate Petter Solberg into the lead, despite the Norwegian also having a trip off course. Solberg was 25 seconds clear of second-placed Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen), who admitted he was over-cautious in a section of the stage littered with crashed cars.