ITEA, Greece The chances of Briton Richard Burns taking his first victory of the season on the Acropolis Rally on Sunday were dashed when the Subaru driver went off the road on the 15th stage.

Burns, who began the stage 12.8 seconds behind leader Colin McRae, crashed 26 kilometers into the 'Elatia - Rengini 1' run and lost more than three minutes.

He eventually completed the stage but the lost time put him out of the points-scoring positions in seventh, Reuters reported.

Ford driver McRae safely completed the stage and moved 14.8 seconds clear of teammate Carlos Sainz with five stages remaining. Norwegian Petter Solberg was third, 57.8 seconds off the pace in his Subaru.