This event, the twelfth round of the WRC season, was supposed to see Sebastien Loeb win his second consecutive title but was marred by the death of Markko Märtin's co-driver Michael Park, who died after Märtin's Peugeot 307 crashed into a tree on Stage 15 of the rally. Märtin had finished all the previous rallies of the 2005 season and his streak tragically ended with loss of life. Märtin retired from WRC after this, refusing to continue after what has been dubbed one of the saddest days in WRC history. After the crash, an emotional Markko said "Park wasn't my co-driver, I was his pilot."