Duval kicks off Rally GB

Overall championship points leader Sebastien Loeb clocked up the second quickest time in the Citroen ahead of Markko Martin in the second Ford.

Duval was satisfied with his time, but complained of a slippery road near the water splash. "Not bad," he said, "but I started on the left and it was very, very slippery, because of all the water from the water splash."

Petter Solberg (Subaru), who topped the shakedown times earlier in the day, was fourth quickest ahead of Peugeot team-mates, Marcus Gronholm, Harri Rovanpera and Daniel Carlsson.

Armin Schwarz was the top Skoda with the eighth quickest time, with Carlos Sainz's Citroen and top privateer Janne Tuohino's Ford rounding out the top 10.

This weekend's event has moved from its traditional November slot to a mid-September date with drivers preparing for all conditions. Most commented after this first day, though, that the surface was more slippery than expected.

The action kicks off again tomorrow (Friday) with the first of the forest stages - Brecha 1 - at 7:15am (6:15am GMT).