Atkinson out - forced to look to Argentina.

Subaru World Rally team driver, Chris Atkinson has retired from the Acropolis Rally after an engine failure forced him out on the penultimate stage.

Atkinson hit trouble a little over a kilometre from the end of SS6 - Rengini 2 - when his Impreza WRC lost power and he was forced to coast to the finish.

"I came out of a corner with about a kilometre to go when the engine made some horrible noises and lost power," he said.

Although the Subaru mechanics tried to fix the problem in service this evening, the damage suffered was too severe and the Aussie will now have to sit out the remainder of the event.

"To put it simply, there is a hole where there shouldn't be a hole," he added.

"It is obviously very disappointing for the rally finish the way in which it did; I wasn't pushing hard, but simply getting more experience under my belt and running at a consistent pace.

"Rallying is full of ups and downs, but is never easy. If it was always easy gaining a good result wouldn't be so rewarding. I will now turn my focus on getting a solid overall result in the Argentina next month."

His team-mate, Stephane Sarrazin meanwhile also had problems in SS6 and was forced out. The ex-F1 ace though, in contrast, looks likely to be able to re-start.