Leg 1: Gronholm from start to finish

The world champion was quickest on every stage and with only the second Super Special stage remaining of the opening leg, has almost 50 seconds in hand over his nearest rivals.

That honour is being disputed between Petter Solberg and Markko Martin, who are locked in a great duel, separated by only a couple of seconds. Carlos Sainz finds himself in a rather lonely fourth, but should the results stay as they are, the Spaniard would clinch second place in the overall championship standings.

After making mistakes early in the day, Colin McRae and Richard Burns have been on the charge and the pair are now within striking distance of a championship point.

It's all to play for fourth in the manufacturers standings too, where Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Skoda are level on points. At the moment Hyundai are the better placed with Freddy Loix in 11th.

Full report to follow.