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Other WRC2 crews also reporting that Hanninen is still stopping with smoke from his Toyota, though not clear whether that's from damage or a failure.
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Andreas Mikkelsen is back in WRC2 duty here and he's straight into the class lead, 2.2s ahead of Camilli.
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Eric Camilli, in the first of the WRC2 cars (and sporting a little wheel damage himself), and reports there was a lot of smoke around Hanninen's car where it was stopped.
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But now trouble for the flying Hanninen - he's stopped on the stage.
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One more World Rally Car to come in, and it's going pretty quickly. Juho Hanninen was quicker than anyone else between splits two and three, which will slot him in somewhere around Sordo and Tanak.
He was very rapid on (admittedly icy) asphalt early on in Monte Carlo too.
He was very rapid on (admittedly icy) asphalt early on in Monte Carlo too.
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"We enjoyed it," Lefebvre insists. "At the start the grip was very good, then at the end it was damp and there was lots of mud on the stage. I think it's not too bad."
This is the first rally where Citroen has a 2017 car for all three of its drivers. But its third one is last in the World Rally Car order right now: Stephane Lefebvre is 36.4s slower than team-mate Meeke and only 10th right now.
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Paddon hasn't had a stunner, he's just 3s faster than Evans so is 28.6s off the lead in eighth for now.
"It's predominantly dry but there are enough damp patches to really throw your confidence," he admits, and says the amount of mud dragged onto the road from corner cutting didn't help his feeling.
"It's predominantly dry but there are enough damp patches to really throw your confidence," he admits, and says the amount of mud dragged onto the road from corner cutting didn't help his feeling.
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Evans's time is just over half a minute down on leader Meeke already.
"It's pretty difficult," he admits. "The grip is really, really, really low for us. We have to just keep doing what we can do.
"The stage is nice, but it would be nice to do it at full attack."
Translated: DMACKs aren't as great as Michelins on asphalt right now.
"It's pretty difficult," he admits. "The grip is really, really, really low for us. We have to just keep doing what we can do.
"The stage is nice, but it would be nice to do it at full attack."
Translated: DMACKs aren't as great as Michelins on asphalt right now.
Order so far: 1 Meeke, 2 Ogier, 3 Neuville, 4 Sordo, 5 Tanak, 6 Breen, 7 Latvala, 8 Evans
Enough nasal carnage, back to rally cars. Breen is in and 17s down on team-mate Meeke in sixth place so far. He acknowledges that "Kris had the Weetabix this morning" but pleased with how his own driving style on these roads is coming along.
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"I went to blow my nose before the stage to clear the dirt out and it just started bleeding," he adds, before suggesting clearing whatever had blocked his nose was key to his pace...
And our man was on the scene to check:
And our man was on the scene to check:
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Meeke has some tidying up to do - he's had a nose bleed.
That aside, "I enjoyed it. The car is working fantastically good."
That aside, "I enjoyed it. The car is working fantastically good."
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And Meeke is through - and he leads by 5.7s!
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Neuville suggests times will get slower as more cars come through because more dirt is already being brought onto the road from cars cutting the edges of corners.
He was a bit more cautious in the damp area and found the bumpy section tough haven't not tested the car on any asphalt roads that rough.
He was a bit more cautious in the damp area and found the bumpy section tough haven't not tested the car on any asphalt roads that rough.
The opening miles possibly haven't been the best for DMACK's asphalt rubber, Evans is slowest so far by some distance at split three - 20.6s off the pace.
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Neuville drops a bit of time to Ogier at the end of the stage where it's damp. He still pops into second ahead of Sordo and Tanak, but is 5.3s off the lead having been as little as 1.9s down on the splits.
Sordo drifted away after that promising first split. He equals Tanak's time and is joint second for now.
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Tanak comes in second fastest so far, 8.2s down on team-mate Ogier.
"It's massively better than last year," he says. "At the beginning of the stage, the car balance is quite good but when the tyres get up to temperature it starts to understeer a bit."
"It's massively better than last year," he says. "At the beginning of the stage, the car balance is quite good but when the tyres get up to temperature it starts to understeer a bit."
Meeke remains fastest as he reaches split three, he's 3.4s up on Ogier there.
So the Ford was 0.4s quicker than the Citroen between splits two and three but Meeke stays ahead.
Who'll be faster through the damp section?
So the Ford was 0.4s quicker than the Citroen between splits two and three but Meeke stays ahead.
Who'll be faster through the damp section?
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Here's why Latvala is so far off Ogier after one stage:
"I was expecting we were going to lose time," says Latvala. "There's a damp bit towards the end of the stage and I was wasn't confident enough in the car.
"I was hesitating, I didn't have the confidence."
"I was expecting we were going to lose time," says Latvala. "There's a damp bit towards the end of the stage and I was wasn't confident enough in the car.
"I was hesitating, I didn't have the confidence."
Neuville is sticking with Ogier well, he's within 2.4s at split three.
Latvala finishes the stage and is 16.7s slower than Ogier.
It's on that bumpy section where Meeke moved ahead of Ogier. We're awaiting his next split to see if he stayed there.
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Asked why he wasn't so great between splits one and two, Ogier says it was simply not driving as well on those miles - putting it down to not feeling as comfortable with the Ford's handling where the road was more bumpy.
Not a great start for Hayden Paddon, who's slowest of all so far - 7.2s off Ogier - at split one.
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And Ogier reaches the stage finish, with a benchmark time of 20m02.2s.
Tanak has reached the final split and he's within 4.2s of Ogier, so clearly ahead of Latvala.
So the order at split two reads: 1 Meeke, 2 Ogier, 3 Neuville, 4 Tanak, 5 Sordo, 6 Latvala
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Great run from splits one to two by Meeke - he's now fastest of all on the stage up to that point, 3.8s up on Ogier.
Ogier has passed the third split, and he's now 11s clear of Latvala there.
Now Neuville's second split is in and he's looking good - he's trimmed a bit back from Ogier and is within 1.9s of the Ford's pace, putting him provisionally second.
Meeke's first split is 3.9s off Ogier, so he's third quickest behind Sordo at that point.
Sordo is the first person who hasn't been quicker than Ogier between splits one and two, so at split two he's back to third in the stage order behind Ogier and Tanak.
Sordo is the first person who hasn't been quicker than Ogier between splits one and two, so at split two he's back to third in the stage order behind Ogier and Tanak.
Latvala and Tanak both pulled a little time back on Ogier between splits one and two, their deficits down to 6.6s and 3.6s respectively.
Back at split one, the order so far is: 1 Ogier, 2 Sordo, 3 Neuville, 4 Tanak, 5 Latvala
Meeke, Breen and Elfyn Evans are now onto the stage too.
Back at split one, the order so far is: 1 Ogier, 2 Sordo, 3 Neuville, 4 Tanak, 5 Latvala
Meeke, Breen and Elfyn Evans are now onto the stage too.
By: Matt Beer
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