VILLA CARLOS PAZ, Argentina <197> Finn Marcus Gronholm's lead in the Rally of Argentina was cut on Saturday after hydraulic problems hampered the Peugeot driver's progress at the start of the seco

Gronholm held an overnight lead of one minute 41.3 seconds, but he lost 50 seconds on the day's opening stage, 'Capilla del Monte 2', because of a loss of hydraulic pressure.

He then lost a further 36.7 seconds on the following test, 'San Marcos Sierra 2', and now has only a 17.2-second advantage over his compatriot Tommi Makinen.

Subaru driver Makinen was quickest on the 'San Marcos Sierra 2' stage, while Briton Richard Burns, who is third for Peugeot, set the best time on the 'Capilla del Monte 2' test.

Subaru's Norwegian Petter Solberg and Spaniard Carlos Sainz, of Ford, were fourth and fifth respectively, while ford driver Colin McRae moved into the top six after two stages of the leg.

The opening stage, which had been canceled on the opening leg because of excessive spectators lining the roads, went ahead on time on Saturday but 'San Marcos Sierra 2' was delayed by nine minutes whi

Peugeot's third entrant, Finn Harri Rovanpera, was forced to retire when his engine failed on the road section to 'San Marcos Sierra 2'.

Rovanpera had finished the opening stage almost three minutes slower than teammate Burns with his engine running on just two cylinders, and he was forced into retirement before reaching the next test.

Belgian Freddy Loix suffered the same fate as a broken throttle on his Hyundai ended his rally before the start of 'San Marcos Sierra 2' Skoda's Argentine driver Gabriel Pozzo had earlier lost one min

The drivers tackle a further seven stages, including two visits to the three-kilometer pro-racing superspecial arena where competitors go head-to-head, before returning to Villa Carlos Paz for an over