Loeb was not injured in the crash

World champion Sebastien Loeb's chances of winning the Rally of Jordan disappeared after a head-on collision.

The four-time champion collided with a privately-entered Citroen, driven by Conrad Rautenbach on a narrow, blind corner after the 11th stage.

Neither driver was hurt and a Citroen spokeswoman said there was a big possibility Loeb will race on Sunday.

Loeb's crash left team-mate Dani Sordo in the lead after 12 stages, 0.7 secs ahead of Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala.

Finland's Mikko Hirvonen was third and poised to re-take the championship lead if the positions remained unchanged through Sunday.

Spaniard Sordo had been overhauled by the BP Ford cars of Hirvonen and Latvala in the first of the afternoon stages before the Finnish duo slowed on the final stage of the day to let the Citroen man back on top of the order.

The Ford duo's antics were driven by their determination not to be first on track on Sunday, meaning Sordo carried an 8.5 secs lead over Latvala into the final day.

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Loeb, who had taken the lead earlier on Saturday, was leaving the stage while Rautenbach was just starting it as the pair collided.

Loeb said: "We had just come out of the 11th stage and were heading for the following test when we collided with another car.

"It was a narrow road and there wasn't room for two cars. It's an unfortunate blow which has put an end to our run for today.

"The team will now do all it can to make the necessary repairs and, if it's worth it, we will re-start under the SuperRally ruling on Sunday."

Loeb leads Hirvonen by five points in the standings after four rallies and had won the previous rounds in Mexico and Argentina.