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Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen retired from Friday's competition in the Jordan Rally after crashing on the opening Suwayma test.
The Finn, who was fifth overnight, crashed 4.5 km from the start, clipping a bank with the front right-hand corner of his Focus RS World Rally Car, then ricocheting across the road into another bank and breaking his car's left-hand front suspension.
With his car's left-hand front wheel hanging off, the Finn had no option but to retire from the day. He hopes to restart as a SuperRally entrant on Saturday.
The stage was won by Sebastien Loeb, who moved ahead of Sebastien Ogier into second overall. Hirvonen's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala set the fifth fastest time to keep the overall rally lead by a margin of 28.5 sec.
Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen retired from Friday's competition in the Jordan Rally after crashing on the opening Suwayma test.
The Finn, who was fifth overnight, crashed 4.5 km from the start, clipping a bank with the front right-hand corner of his Focus RS World Rally Car, then ricocheting across the road into another bank and breaking his car's left-hand front suspension.
With his car's left-hand front wheel hanging off, the Finn had no option but to retire from the day. He hopes to restart as a SuperRally entrant on Saturday.
The stage was won by Sebastien Loeb, who moved ahead of Sebastien Ogier into second overall. Hirvonen's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala set the fifth fastest time to keep the overall rally lead by a margin of 28.5 sec.