Makinen out of Acropolis Rally.

Tommi Makinen's Acropolis jinx struck again on day one of this year's rally, as his Mitsubishi succumbed to a freak mechanical problem.

The Finn had already sideswiped the Marlboro-backed car on stage three, requiring him to limp home on three wheels, but it is not clear whether this had any effect on the hub failure which eventually put him out on the road section after SS4. Team-mate Freddy Loix had already retired with a similar problem, leaving Ralliart team boss Andrew Cowan to speculate that both drivers may have been the victims of a rogue batch of parts.

''It is very difficult to say exactly what has happened before analysing the parts back at base,'' the Scot said, ''but it would seem that the hub shaft part of the car has broken, and that Tommi and Freddy have retired with the same problem. It's a completely freak incident - this has never happened before. We are obviously very disappointed, and must investigate further. We believe, however, that it is a component failure with a batch of parts we have here in Greece.''

Colin McRae continues to lead the event for Ford, after early leader Marcus Gronholm also lost a wheel on stage three. The Swede currently lies a lowly 18th, while Carlos Sainz and Juha Kankkunen complete the top three.