Sebastien Loeb has crashed out of the Acropolis Rally on the first stage of leg two. The World Champion had been running third when the accident happened five miles into the stage.

Initial reports suggest that Loeb's Citroen was severely damaged and ended up some distance from the road, but the team has confirmed that both the Frenchman and his co-driver Daniel Elena are OK.

Mikko Hirvonen continues to lead the rally for Ford, with his advantage over second-placed Dani Sordo (Citroen) down to 1.8 seconds.

Loeb's accident has moved Petter Solberg into first place. If, as seems likely given early reports of the severity of the accident, Loeb cannot rejoin under superally rules tomorrow, this will be his first retirement since Sweden 2008.