By alley - Jul 18, 2017, 10:26 AM ET

Rally video: Loeb out of Silk Way rally after crash

Sebastien Loeb has been forced to retire from the Silk Way Rally lead after badly damaging the front of his DKR Maxi – the car Peugeot was testing for next year's Dakar Rally.

Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena had a healthy lead of more than an hour heading into the ninth stage when they hit a drain near a riverbed, which damaged the front of the car. After repairs, the pair needed to make two additional stops before being forced out of the race. Loeb suffered a severely sprained left index finger, making it difficult to hold the steering wheel.

What does not kill you make you faster! The story of@SebastienLoebforced retirement after a crash in SS9 w/ the#PeugeotDKRMaxipic.twitter.com/8L6vpEDrVC— Peugeot Sport (@peugeotsport)July 18, 2017

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"There was hole that I didn't see, so we hit the inside, and we broke some parts on the front of the car," said Loeb. "We made few stops to repair the car to be able to continue, and eventually needed the help of the assistance truck. We couldn't finish the stage because the night was coming. It was a long day. I have a sprained wrist, and I do not feel that great. So I am not able to continue driving as I can't actually hold the steering wheel properly anymore.

"I know though that Team Peugeot Total would have been able to fix the car. Once again I had a really good feeling with the Peugeot DKR Maxi, which is performing well, and I am sure that this is the car we need to tackle the Dakar next year."

Peugeot teammate Cyril Despres has now inherited the race lead.

"I think my experience racing motorcycles meant that I chose to stay in the dry riverbed, where it was bumpy and you couldn’t go as fast, rather than go out of it onto smoother ground where you could go faster," Despres said. "Now we have a small lead but we need to stay concentrated, as once again today we saw that in rally-raid anything can happen."

Loeb, who finished second in this year's Dakar Rally to teammate Stephane Peterhansel, was advised to retire from the race in order to recover for his rallycross campaign with Team Peugeot Hansen, where he is fourth in the standings.