Adrien Fourmaux has crashed out of sixth position on Rally Sweden.
The Hyundai driver had been in contention for a podium until the final stage on Saturday morning when he dropped more than 20 seconds after having to stop to fasten his helmet strap.
After that time loss, Fourmaux was on an afternoon charge. He was the only driver to take just a single spare wheel, seeking to reduce the weight of his car, and immediately went fastest on the afternoon loop’s first stage.
But shortly after the start of the fast SS13 Sarjöliden, Fourmaux ran slightly wide on a fast left-hander. His car ran into the snowbank and, although Fourmaux attempted to power out of it, the Hyundai got sucked in deeper and beached.
Fourmaux and co-driver Alex Coria immediately jumped out to try to dig themselves out but, with no spectators around to help, were unable to do so.
They were forced to retire for the day and will restart on Sunday.
In the rally overall, Elfyn Evans continues to lead the way, slightly extending his advantage over Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta to 8.6s after SS13. Thierry Neuville is a further 6.5s back after passing team-mate Ott Tänak for third overall.
