World champion Sebastien Loeb crashed out of the season-ending Rally of Australia yesterday when he hit a tree while leading late on the first day. The Frenchman was not injured in the accident but was forced to retire after wrecking his Citroen before the end of the ninth stage.

Swedish rally driver Daniel Carlsson also escaped serious injury after a fiery crash on the third stage outside the Western Australia capital Perth. Carlsson and his co-driver Mattias Anderson were airlifted to a Perth hospital after their Peugeot burst into flames after sliding off the road and slamming into a tree.

Two-time world champion Marcus Gronholm also made an early exit when he damaged the suspension on his Peugeot, ruining his chances of finishing second in the championship.

Petter Solberg took advantage to open up a healthy 45-second lead ahead of Scotland's Colin McRae and Belgian Francois Duval.

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