WRC leader Evans crashes at Croatia Rally

Elfyn Evans has crashed out of the lead on day one of Rally Croatia.

The World Rally Championship leader had been fastest on the opening two stages of the event, but on the third run of the morning he overshot a right-hander and became stuck in thick foliage well off the road.

Heading into the bend Evans was heard saying "I thought it was a three" - indicating a possible pacenote-related issue with co-driver Scott Martin.

The Welshman's mishap promoted fellow Toyota driver Sami Pajari into the lead and damaged Evans' bid to build a big advantage in the title race over another team-mate, Oliver Solberg.

Sweden's Solberg - who started round four of this year's championship in second place, eight points behind his fellow Gazoo Racing Team driver - had also crashed out on the rally's opening stage, hitting a bank two hours earlier.

In a dramatic opening loop, M-Sport Ford driver Jon Armstrong also fell victim to the Croatian tarmac as he retired after running wide and clipping a bank.

Before his accident, the Northern Ireland driver was just 0.1 seconds away from a first stage win in the WRC but he was narrowly pipped to the fastest time on the third stage by Thierry Neuville.

The accidents promoted Josh McErlean, Armstrong's Motorsport Ireland and M-Sport team-mate to fifth place but he picked up a puncture on Friday's penultimate stage and dropped back.

Eight more stages take place on Saturday before the final four stages on Sunday.