Adapted from wrc.com
Former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg (Citroen C4) is the leader after the first day of Rally Japan.
The Norwegian driver took lead after he set the fastest time in SS3 and 4 at the beginning of the day. He stands now in first position with an almost 10-second advantage over Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus).
Hirvonen completed the opening loop of three stages on Friday in fourth place overall but an upturn in pace in the afternoon enabled the factory Ford Focus driver to leap to second, 9.4 seconds behind Solberg, courtesy of two stage wins.
Sebastien Ogier lies in third in his first Rally Japan. He is also the leading works Citroen driver after teammate and title leader Sebastien Loeb lost significant ground cleaning the road of the loose surface gravel on Friday morning.
Loeb, meanwhile, suffered a broken front damper to add to the delay he suffered running first on the road. His road position remained a hindrance for the afternoon tests due to the ruts that had formed following the first pass of the three gravel stages.
Jari-Matti Latvala, who is fourth in the second works Focus, reported making two small mistakes on stage seven.
Dani Sordo completes the top five in his Citroen Junior Team C4 but suffered from a gearbox glitch during the afternoon.
Classification after Day 1 :
1. P. Solberg-Patterson (Citroen C4 Wrc) in 1.13’31”2
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Focus Wrc) + 9”4
3. Ogier-Ingrassia (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 21”3
4. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Focus Wrc) + 22”4
5. Sordo-Vallejo(Citroen C4 Wrc) + 36”5
6. Loeb-Elena (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 54”5
7. H. Solberg-Minor (Ford Focus Wrc) + 1’22”2
8. Wilson-Martin (Ford Focus Wrc) + 3’16”9
9. Villagra-Perez Companc (Ford Focus Wrc) + 3’46”5
10. Raikkonen-Lindstrom (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 4’03”1
etc.
Former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg (Citroen C4) is the leader after the first day of Rally Japan.
The Norwegian driver took lead after he set the fastest time in SS3 and 4 at the beginning of the day. He stands now in first position with an almost 10-second advantage over Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus).
Hirvonen completed the opening loop of three stages on Friday in fourth place overall but an upturn in pace in the afternoon enabled the factory Ford Focus driver to leap to second, 9.4 seconds behind Solberg, courtesy of two stage wins.
Sebastien Ogier lies in third in his first Rally Japan. He is also the leading works Citroen driver after teammate and title leader Sebastien Loeb lost significant ground cleaning the road of the loose surface gravel on Friday morning.
Loeb, meanwhile, suffered a broken front damper to add to the delay he suffered running first on the road. His road position remained a hindrance for the afternoon tests due to the ruts that had formed following the first pass of the three gravel stages.
Jari-Matti Latvala, who is fourth in the second works Focus, reported making two small mistakes on stage seven.
Dani Sordo completes the top five in his Citroen Junior Team C4 but suffered from a gearbox glitch during the afternoon.
Classification after Day 1 :
1. P. Solberg-Patterson (Citroen C4 Wrc) in 1.13’31”2
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Ford Focus Wrc) + 9”4
3. Ogier-Ingrassia (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 21”3
4. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Focus Wrc) + 22”4
5. Sordo-Vallejo(Citroen C4 Wrc) + 36”5
6. Loeb-Elena (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 54”5
7. H. Solberg-Minor (Ford Focus Wrc) + 1’22”2
8. Wilson-Martin (Ford Focus Wrc) + 3’16”9
9. Villagra-Perez Companc (Ford Focus Wrc) + 3’46”5
10. Raikkonen-Lindstrom (Citroen C4 Wrc) + 4’03”1
etc.