New Hyundai impresses on debut

The new car has been one of the surprises of the event, both Kenneth Eriksson and Alister McRae setting top ten stage times. Teething troubles meant that they finished the day down in 17th and 19th positions respectively.

'I'm really happy with the car,' Eriksson said. 'I've been trying hard and enjoying myself. The balance and set-up of the car are fantastic, this is an excellent start to the year for us.'

'It's been a very encouraging day and the car has performed very well,' added McRae. 'It's a shame about the problems but I would have been very surprised if we didn't have some with a brand new car.'

Eriksson lost several minutes with a loose turbo boost pipe but charged back from 40th to 17th during the afternoon. McRae has on the fringes of the top ten on the early stages before dropping back when his car developed a severe vibration.