Cyprus Rally Leg 1

Cyprus Rally - Leg 1

Cyprus Rally is widely known as one of, if not the most, difficult events in the entire FIA World Rally Championship. Slow, rocky terrain with dry, dusty conditions make Cyprus one of the most demanding rallies on both man and machine, and the field this year experienced all of these qualities, and a few more, during the first leg of the rally.

The rally began with BP-Ford World Rally Team driver Marcus Gronholm jumping to an early lead, which he held throughout the opening leg. Though Gronholm claimed the quickest times on each of the morning's first three contests, Sebastien Loeb was never far behind the Finn and the battle for first overall was the highlight of the opening day. Loeb completed the leg second overall, and the battle for the rally lead promises to dominate the second and third legs of the rally. 6.4 seconds separates Loeb and Gronholm as the duo moves into the second leg.

Toni Gardemeister began the day posting blindingly quick times, and found himself in third overall, which he held through the opening three stages of the rally, but BP-Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, who drove a cautious pace through the morning's first contests, claimed third overall on the fourth stage of the day. Gardemeister and Hirvonen looked as though they would provide a dramatic battle for the final podium position until the fifth stage, when Gardemeister suffered a puncture, which effectively ended his hunt for a podium position during the first leg. Gardemeister finished the opening leg eighth on the leaderboard, though he sits only 0.1 seconds behind seventh overall.

OMV-Peugeot Norway World Rally Team's Manfred Stohl found his best-ever result in the WRC when he finished second in Cyprus in 2005 with a Citroen Xsara in second overall. Stohl seemed comfortable in the Peugeot 307, despite complaining of under-steer problems after several of the day's stages. Stohl completed the leg fourth overall, thanks in part to the troubles endured by Gardemeister.

Subaru World Rally Team's Chris Atkinson found himself as the highest placed Subaru at the end of the opening leg. Atkinson finished the day fifth overall, and despite a rough run through the leg, the Australian vowed to drive a careful rally to ensure his presence at the end of the event. Dani Sordo retired from sixth with a broken engine on the penultimate test.

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team's Matthew Wilson completed the day sixth overall. Wilson is contesting his first Cyprus Rally and after an accident during shakedown where Wilson broke his steering-arm on his Ford Focus. Wilson's Focus was repaired and since, the young Brit drove a clean rally, opting for the slow and steady method of accruing points before stopping after the final stage of the afternoon with a faulty battery. Wilson was unable to continue and will return for the second leg after suffering a time penalty which dropped him to 10th overall as day one ended.

Xavier Pons began the day much slower than most of the World Rally Cars, but Pons drove a clean leg and found himself sixth overall after the completion of the opening day. Pons drove a mostly uneventful day and is looking to regain his confidence after a disappointing run in the OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

Luis Perez Companc finished the day eighth overall. Companc, who had also never contested Rally Cyprus prior to 2006, finished a dramatic day mostly unscathed.

Both Red Bull Skoda drivers (Andreas Aigner and Harri Rovanpera) suffered overheating troubles in their cars' electronics system and they will not restart tomorrow.

Subaru's Petter Solberg suffered mechanical problems during the second loop of stages, where he lost all but one of his Impreza's gears. Solberg's performance during the opening leg was almost schizophrenic, claiming a stage victory on the fourth stage of the day, but posting inconsistent times during several of the day's other stages.

OMV-Peugeot's Henning Solberg also had a dramatic day, posting quick stage times and in one instance a blindingly fast time with a broken drive-shaft. Solberg went off the road on the day's final stage, when he was blinded by the sun. He will return to competition Saturday under Superally.

-WRC