Hirvonen moves ahead in Japan

Early leader Latvala had extended his advantage to 6.2 seconds by winning SS5 Pawse Kumuy Reverse, but Hirvonen was then quickest in the next two stages and was able to take first position away from the Stobart Ford in SS6.

The works Ford squad's hopes now rest entirely on Hirvonen's shoulders following Marcus Gronholm's crash in SS4, especially as initial indications suggest that damage to the rollcage will prevent Gronholm from rejoining the event for leg two.

"It's been a fantastic day, but there's still a long way to go," said Hirvonen. "It's only the start of the rally, but hopefully I can keep it up. Tomorrow is a very long day with difficult stages, and I'm sure Sebastien is still pushing."

Loeb, who is now 10.9 seconds adrift of Hirvonen and still behind Latvala in third, admitted he was struggling to match the leader's pace.

"Mikko is really fast," Loeb said. "Nothing to do. I am not confident in the car since this morning, so I just try to keep it on the road. I have a lot of understeer. We'll try to change something this evening in the service and hopefully tomorrow will be better."

Despite losing the lead to Hirvonen, Latvala was still extremely satisfied with his day.

"It has been a great day and very good for me," he said. "This afternoon I was losing a little bit of time to Mikko, but he was really flying. It will be an interesting battle."

With championship leader Gronholm out, Loeb has a chance to take the points lead in Japan if he finishes in the top four, but the Frenchman remains cautious.

"It's a very different situation (with Gronholm retiring), but also not so easy because I know I now have two and a half days to go on a tricky rally," said Loeb, who is currently four points behind Gronholm, after SS5.

"It's a good opportunity, but it's hard to keep the concentration. I think I really need to continue to push."

The WRC field is already suffering from a high attrition rate, with Subaru experiencing a particularly disastrous afternoon. Petter Solberg did some cosmetic damage to the front of his Impreza with an error in SS5, then had to retire from the leg when his car became stuck in sixth gear on the following road section.

His retirement moved his teammate Chris Atkinson into seventh place, but the Australian had a high-speed crash in the next stage. Although both Atkinson and co-driver Stephane Prevot were unhurt, their car sustained significant damage and is unlikely to return for the rest of the rally.

Solberg, however, is expected to reappear under superally regulations tomorrow, albeit some way down the order.

The top three have now broken away from the rest of the field. An error in SS5 dropped Stobart Ford's Henning Solberg behind Dani Sordo in the battle for fourth, but the Norweigan is still within 4.4 seconds of the Citroen number two, despite Sordo winning Rikubetsu 2.

Manfred Stohl has a comfortable sixth place for OMV Kronos Citroen, 40 seconds behind Solberg and a similar margin clear of Xevi Pons in the remaining Subaru.

The problems amongst the works car have elevated the WRC privateers into the top ten. Munchi's Ford pair Luis Perez Companc and Federico Villagra are now eighth and tenth, split by Matthew Wilson in the third Stobart Ford.

The drivers will now make two passes through the Obihiro Superspecial to complete the opening leg.

Leading positions after SS8:

Pos  Driver         Car      Time
 1.  Hirvonen       Ford     57:53.6
 2.  Latvala        Ford     +   9.3
 3.  Loeb           Citroen  +  10.9
 4.  Sordo          Citroen  +  41.5
 5.  H Solberg      Ford     +  45.9
 6.  Stohl          Citroen  +1:26.6
 7.  Pons           Subaru   +2:03.2
 8.  Perez Companc  Ford     +2:19.3
 9.  Wilson         Ford     +2:45.6
10.  Villagra       Ford     +3:26.8