Ford's Marcus Gronholm retained the lead in the Swedish Rally after Saturday's early stages, but Norway's Petter Solberg's hopes were ruined when he crashed into a ditch and went from third place to 34th.

Gronholm, hoping to celebrate his 39th birthday on Monday with a fifth Swedish win, was 10.5 seconds ahead of triple world champion Sebastian Loeb, after winning the rally's 10 stage.

Frenchman Loeb, in a Citroen, leads the world championship standings after winning last month's opening Monte Carlo Rally.

"We are both crazy, me and Loeb...No tactics, just full throttle," Gronholm told the Swedish Rally Web site.

Solberg's accident effectively killed his chances of repeating his 2005 Swedish win as it put him 14 minutes off the pace.

"I had under steering, went off the road and got stuck in a ditch for 15 minutes. The is car okay," Solberg, who had guided his Subaru to third after the first day, told the Web site.

Loeb is the only non-Nordic driver since 1950 to have won the Swedish Rally, taking the crown in 2004.

This year's rally, on routes in and around the town of Karlstad in central Sweden, is part of a winter double-header, with the Norwegian Rally making its debut next weekend.