Motor sport:The race for the rally world championship took a new twist when Frenchman Sebastian Loeb slid off at a crash-strewn Japan Rally on Saturday.
The triple world champion had been on course to overtake Marcus Gronholm at the top of the drivers' standings after the Finn crashed his Ford into a tree stump in Friday's first leg.
Loeb's hopes of catching race leader Mikko Hirvonen ended when he lost control of his Citroen and skidded into a ditch on stage 13 in slippery conditions.
He was followed by third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland, who also crashed after his Ford had suffered gearbox trouble earlier in the second leg.
Loeb had reduced the gap in the championship race to four points with back-to-back wins in Catalunya and Corsica and was boosted by Gronholm's dramatic retirement on Friday.
Fourth place or better on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido would have lifted Loeb above Gronholm heading into the penultimate round in Ireland.
But even if Citroen mechanics can repair Loeb's car before Sunday's third leg, he would still be way behind the field with all the time penalties incurred.
Ford's Hirvonen led by a comfortable 50.5 seconds at Saturday's halfway point with Citroen's Daniel Sordo second and Henning Solberg's Ford third respectively behind the Finn.