Leader Hirvonen slid off the road and hit a rock

Sebastien Loeb took control of the Rally Argentina on Friday after series leader Mikko Hirvonen crashed.

Loeb was 50.8 seconds behind on the fifth stage of day one when Hirvonen suffered suspension damage after hitting a rock.

The Frenchman claimed the stage to take a lead over Australian Chris Atkinson, which he built to 90.6 seconds.

Atkinson matched Loeb during the sixth and seventh stages but two spins on the penultimate run cost him 40 seconds.

Britain's Matthew Wilson was in seventh place in his Stobart Ford, six minutes and 18 seconds behind Loeb.

Hirvonen had set a ferocious pace early in the day, winning three of the opening four stages but the damp and slippery track got the better of him.

Fellow Finn Jari-Matti Latvala, the winner of last month's Swedish Rally, also ran into problems when he went off the track during the second stage.

He managed to get his Ford Focus back on the road with the help of spectators but the mishap saw him finish the day in eighth place, nearly nine-and-a-half minutes off the pace.