Ford's hopes of a 13th Acropolis Rally of Greece victory were hit hard by a mistake from Jari-Matti Latvala on the final stage of day one.

Day-long leader Latvala slid off the road mid-way through the stage, dropping three minutes. With Citroen's Dani Sordo then slowing down at the end of the stage while running second, Latvala's teammate Mikko Hirvonen has been promoted into the rally lead – and therefore has to run first on the road tomorrow.

"I went off the road and the car was stuck," said Latvala. "These things can happen when you are pushing hard."

An AUTOSPORT photographer at the scene reported that Latvala slid off the road backwards, with the rear of his car becoming stuck in some soft sand. Although spectators immediately came to assist, the car could not be moved until Latvala also jumped out and helped lift the Ford up to allow it to continue. The incident has dropped Latvala back to 11th place.