Day 1: Loeb chases Solberg

The reigning world champion said: "We based our tyre choice on the first stage and I'm pleased with how fast we were. I pushed as hard as I could without going crazy and the feeling was good, especially on the high-speed sections. It's giving me good confidence which I think is to do with the aerodynamic changes to the car."

Loeb is closing on leader Solberg after the first day of competition but he is happy that his performance has kept him within shouting distance of the leader.

"It's a good start," he said. "But this event is proving to be very difficult without gravel crews."

Subaru driver Solberg, quickest on SS1 at Ortega-La-Esperanza, was quickest again during SS3 at Ibarilla-El Zauco, the first stage of the afternoon. But Loeb, who was quickest on SS2, matched that by coming out on top of the timesheets on the final stage of the day, a repeat of SS1.

At the end of day one of the inaugural Rally Mexico, Solberg still leads, but Loeb has slashed his gap to the Norwegian from 14.1 seconds at the start of the day to 5.6 seconds.

Third-placed Peugeot 307 driver Marcus Gronholm closed to within two seconds of Loeb during SS3 thanks to setting the second-fastest time but the gap has now extended once again to 9.4 seconds following SS4, in which the Finn finished third.

Gronholm reckons he picked tyres that were too soft for the conditions, having expected it to be much damper after the wet shakedown tests.

He said: "I'd say I was medium happy," he said. "The first stage was slightly muddy, but not exactly damp, while the second stage was completely dry. We were expecting it to be wetter, so we chose tyres that were too soft. That meant that the car was moving around too much, but it wasn't a complete disaster. The car feels good and I'm sure we can improve."

Citroen's second driver Carlos Sainz was the big winner of the afternoon stages, moving from fifth to fourth, overtaking Ford driver Markko Martin during SS4.

Sixth belonged to WRC returnee Harri Rovanpera in the second Peugeot 307. The Finn's soft brake pedal in SS1 and rear puncture in SS2 kept him from being quicker early on.

Meanwhile, Ford's rookie Francois Duval kept hold of seventh at the end of the day. A broken wheel had held him up during the morning.