Meeke out of Rally Sweden

The Briton had set the fastest time on the first of the afternoon's stages, Svullrya, and had reduced Sebastien Ogier's lead to 21 seconds by the end of SS7.

Meeke had again taken time out of the Volkswagen driver through SS8 but stopped halfway through the stage after hitting a rock that had been stuck in the road.

The PH Sport Citroen driver also retired from second place in the Monte Carlo Rally three weeks ago, where he was also forced to stop after damage from a rock - having also been Ogier's nearest challenger in the principality.