Loeb: Acropolis crash a blow

Multiple WRC champion, Sebastien Loeb has conceded that the title race is now wide open following his crash on the Acropolis Rally and his failure to score.

Loeb, who had ended Friday's opening leg in third place, 21.1 seconds off Mikko Hirvonen in P1, went out in the very first stage on day two - 8 kilometres into the 17.25 kilometre-run through Klenia Mycenae 1.

The Frenchman rolled his Citroen C4 WRC several times in the incident and while he and co-driver, Daniel Elena both escaped unhurt, the car suffered heavy damage and as a result there was no chance to SupeRally.

Speaking about the incident and his first DNF since the Swedish Rally at the start of 2008, he admitted it was his fault.

"I took a right-hander a bit too fast. We got through the corner, but we weren't on the correct line for the next left-hander," he explained.

"We hit a stone at the apex which ripped off a wheel and sent us into a series of barrel rolls on the other side of the road. We rolled five or six times at high speed.

"There was no chance to fix it for day three - the car was too badly damaged to restart. The main thing is that neither of us [myself or Daniel Elena] were injured."

Despite his early exit however, and despite the fact Hirvonen took the win, Seb still remains top in the race for the 2009 drivers' crown, albeit with his cushion reduced from 17 points to seven.

"It's a shame to lose so many points in the championship and of course, this is a great loss for us, but we still are on top of the championship. Mikko lost points in Argentina. It was just my turn to make a mistake. Now though it is going to be harder to go for the title again," he summed-up.