McRae fastest but Gronholm still in charge

The Scot was 1.5s faster than Juha Kankkunen. SEAT's rising star Toni Gardemeister was third, suggesting that the engine problems that have plagued his efforts all day have now been resolved.

Marcus Gronholm continues to lead the rally overall for Peugeot. His advantage was slightly eroded on SS9, but he remains 15s clear of second placed Thomas Radstrom. The latter is continuing to outshine the works team in his private Toyota Team Sweden Corolla.

World Champion Tommi Makinen completes a Finnish 1-2-3, ahead of British pair Colin McRae and Richard Burns.

The rally continues tomorrow with another five stages.

Overall positions at the end of leg one:

J Kankkunen 1m57.4s

T Gardemeister 1m57.5s

C Sainz 1m57.6s

T Radstrom 1m58.1s

T Makinen 1m58.4s

R Burns 1m59.8s

F Delecour 1m59.8s

M Gronholm 1m59.8s

K Eriksson 2m00.3s

D Auriol 2m01.0s

F Loix 2m01.3s

M Martin 2m04.3s

P Hagstrom 2m04.6s

A McRae 2m06.9s

H Rovanpera 2m06.9s

P Solberg 2m15.5s