Solberg retires from lead

Solberg, the 2003 world champion, had held the top spot from the first stage of the rally on what was the debut of his Subaru team’s all-new 2007 car and was in front by a slender 2.1 seconds from Sebastien Loeb.

But his joy was not to last, as he ground to a halt on the road section between stage five and six, leaving Loeb with a 27 second lead over the Norwegian's team-mate Chris Atkinson.

By the end of the day's action Subaru had not yet decided on whether or not to re-start their man on Saturday morning with a ten-minute penalty under SupeRally rules.