Craig Breen and his Cavan co-driver James Fulton were forced to retire from Rally Japan after an incident on stage seven.
Their M-Sport Ford Puma sustained too much damage to continue after colliding with a barrier mid-way through the stage. His teammate Gus Greensmith lies sixth in the rally standings, despite suffering from a broken driveshaft earlier on.
The rally was disrupted earlier after Dani Sordo's Hyundai I20 caught fire on stage two, reducing the car to a shell. Both drivers escaped unharmed. The second Hyundai of Ott Tänak also suffered issues with his transmission but still remains fourth, 9.1 seconds off the lead.
Breen’s retirement promotes home-hero Takamota Katsuta up to fifth. Takamota is aiming for a solid result at his first home rally driving for Toyota.
Welshman Elfyn Evans leads the rally ahead of the Hyundai Thierry Neuville and the reigning world champion, Kalle Rovanperä.
