DUBLIN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Ford's Marcus Gronholm crashed out of Rally Ireland on Friday, handing Citroen's Sebastien Loeb the lead and boosting the Frenchman's bid for a fourth successive world championship.
At the end of the first leg, with 10 stages completed, Loeb led Spanish team mate Dani Sordo by 11.2 seconds. The Sligo-based rally, making its championship debut, ends on Sunday.
Gronholm, four points ahead of the Frenchman at the start of the penultimate rally of the season, had led overnight after a short super-special stage in Belfast but smashed into a stone wall on the fourth stage south of the border.
UPDATE 1-Rallying-Gronholm crash fuels Loeb's title hopes | Sports | Motor Sports | Reuters