Electrical and gearbox issues have forced Hayden Paddon out of the first day of Wales Rally GB, but the New Zealander is confident of restarting when the second day begins early on Sunday (NZT).
Paddon and co-driver John Kennard were quickest in the Super 2000 class, and 14th overall in stage one, setting a sharp pace for the 20.48km stage.
They finished 4.4sec faster than series leader Per-Gunnar Andersson, and were just 0.8sec slower than Sebastian Ogier, who drives a similar Skoda Fabia S2000.
But problems struck on stage two, when Paddon's Skoda lost all power with an ignition problem.
"An electrical fault stopped the car in a similar fashion in Portugal earlier in the year," Paddon said.
"After going through all the systems and resetting everything, we got the car fired again, losing 14 minutes."
Andersson picked up a puncture on the same stage, and was forced to retire after completing the stage with a broken wheel.
Paddon fought back in the third stage, finishing 1.6sec behind Irishman Craig Breen in second place only to find second gear in the Skoda's gearbox was gone.
The electrical problems from stage two then returned, forcing the New Zealanders out of the day's remaining three stages.
Although disappointed, Paddon says he and Kennard will be back on the rally's second day.
"We will be back tomorrow with just one target - to try and beat Sebastien Ogier on some stages. If we can do that, then not all is completely lost for the weekend."
Re-start rules means Paddon and Kennard were given stage times for the three stages they missed, calculated by adding five minutes to the category winner's time.
Breen holds the SWRC lead after day one with an advantage of 40.9sec over Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi.
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