World champion Sebastien Ogier retained the lead in the season-ending Wales Rally GB on Saturday despite being held up by the crash of a rival competitor.
In atrocious weather conditions midway through the slippery Dyfnant stage, France’s Ogier was forced to come to a standstill after Thierry Neuville rolled his Hyundai.
Ogier, who won his third world title in September, was flagged down by Belgian racer Neuville’s co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul.
“He was blocking the road so we had to stop for some time,” Ogier said. “The co-driver told us to stop completely. They managed to move the car and we carried on.”
Race officials examined onboard video footage from Ogier’s Volkswagen before adjusting his stage time by 31 seconds.
Ogier was then quickest through the ensuing Aberhirnant stage by 3.3 seconds from Kris Meeke’s Citroen and ended Saturday’s second full day of three with a 30.5 secs advantage over the British driver.