Sébastien Ogier's hopes of finishing second in the 2010 World Rally Championship have been dealt a blow after the Frenchman crashed out of the Wales Rally Great Britain in Saturday's opening stage.
Ogier was very much in contention for the lead in the final rally of the season when his Citroën C4 WRC came off the road within sight of the finish of the Radnor Stage (SS8).
'I came too fast into a corner and that was it' – Sébastien Ogier
Both driver and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were unharmed in the incident, however their car was severely damaged which looks set to rule the duo out of the rally completely.
“I came too fast into a corner and that was it,” a disappointed Ogier said.
“The car rolled once - but slowly - but now we are stuck and it’s impossible to restart. The conditions were as slippery as I expected them to be. I’m stupid.”
Ogier had been in second position behind 2010 champion-elect Sébastien Loeb in the overall standings since his victory in Portugal and he entered the Wales Rally GB ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg by 11 and 16 points respectively, but the crash looks to have cost him the runner-up spot.
Solberg took the stage win on SS8 and leads Loeb by 0.3 seconds with Mikko Hirvonen in third and Dani Sordo in fourth ahead of fifth placed Latvala.
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