Loeb was hoping to close the gap on Gronholm
Sebastien Loeb's hopes of catching championship leader Marcus Gronholm suffered a major blow after he slid off at the Japan Rally.
The Frenchman, who needed to finish fourth or better to lead the standings, lost control of his Citroen and skidded into a ditch on stage 13.
Loeb was set to overtake Gronholm after the Finn crashed his Ford into a tree stump on Friday.
Ford's Mikko Hirvonen led by a 50.5 seconds at Saturday's halfway point.
Citroen's Daniel Sordo is second and Henning Solberg's Ford is lying in third.
The slippery conditions also caused third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland, who was having gearbox problems, to crash out.
Loeb could still challenge in Sunday's third leg if the Citroen mechanics manage to repair his car but he would find himself far down the field with all the time penalties incurred.
The three-times champion had reduced the gap in the title race to four points with back-to-back wins in Catalunya and Corsica.
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