Gronholm is Loeb's only title rival this season

Championship leader Sebastien Loeb is out with a broken arm but could win the title if Gronholm, driving a Ford, fails to score points this weekend.

With three stages rained off, Gronholm led Petter Solberg by 26.1 seconds, while Mikko Hirvonen was third.

Briton Colin McRae, filling in for Loeb, ended the day in seventh place.

The conditions are terrible, really bad, the worst I've ever seen Colin McRae

Thursday's heavy rain led to the cancellation of two mountain stages, before the fourth was scrapped because of mud on the road and stage five was shortened for the same reason.

Former world champion McRae, competing in his first rally of the year, blamed a wrong choice of tyres for ending his chances.

"We had the wrong information," he said.

"We were told that the stage was drying up and it was wet all the way through.

"The conditions are terrible, really bad, the worst I've ever seen. All we can do is survive, and not make any mistakes."

With three rallies left after the event in Turkey, Loeb, who broke his arm falling off his mountain bike, leads Gronholm by 35 points.

The Frenchman has not ruled out returning for the next round of the championship in Australia.

"At the moment Marcus has a big pressure because he knows that he is able to win every rally and has to do so if he wants to become world champion," he said.

"I think in his mind after Cyprus he thought it was finished and he will not be world champion. Now he has again an opportunity and so it's a big pressure."