Andros Trophy day 1: Muller leads at Serre Chevalier

Yvan Muller, winner of the first two rounds, was still carrying an extra 60kg in his Globalstar Astra, but was unhindered by the weight penalty and dominated the first day of two days of competition at Serre Chevalier.

"I was testing the tyres Michelin are preparing for the final at the Stade de France, and drove both with and without the extra weight," said the five-times champion. "It made a difference of about a second a lap. With normal tyres, I'd estimate around six tenths. It means I have to attack all the time, but the weight means the car has more inertia, and less agility."

Despite the fact that neither of his main competitors - Marcel Tarres in his Citroen Xsara, and Jean-Philippe Dayraut, who took advantage of the two-month break to further develop the new BMW Z3 - are carrying any extra weight, Muller soon pulled ahead, to lead at the end of the first day.

Tarres was fastest in both the timed sessions, with his best lap more than half a second faster than Muller. However, in the heats, where the total time over three laps counts, Muller regained the upper hand, beating Tarres in the both the first and second sessions.

Jean-Philippe Dayraut was third, with Anthony Beltoise fourth, and Laurent Fouquet an excellent fifth giving the Frenchman the lead of the Promotion class. Double Sports Racing World Cup champion Emmanuel Collard, back on the ice for the first time since last season, was 12th in Stephane Peterhansel's Nissan Micra.

Both Muller and Tarrès won their six-lap finals, giving Muller overall victory on the first day ahead of Tarres, Dayraut and Beltoise. The competition continues tomorrow (Sunday).