Stage one: McRae takes lead
Colin McRae is leading the Rally of Australia after the first stage of the event.
The rally began today with a single night stage taking place in Perth's Langley Park.
Championship contenders Didier Auriol and Tommi Makinen were second and third respectively.
Under a new reverse seeding system being introduced in this year's rally, the 31-year-old Ford Focus driver now gets to decide where he starts out of the top 12 seeded drivers taking part in the event.
The following 11 drivers will also get the chance to choose their positions.
McRae, who won the Australian Rally in 1994 and 1997, put in a time of 1.35.500, ahead of Auriol's 1.35.900 and Makkinen's 1.36.000.
British driver Richard Burns is currently lying seventh with a 1.36.600, while fellow Subaru driver Juha Kankkunen is fourth with a 1.36.100.
The first full day of the rally begins on Friday, with the cars driving through to Stage 11.
Autosport.com will be covering the rally live. Special Stage two of the rally begins at 0042 [GMT].
Stage one [and current overall] results:
|
Pos |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
|
1 |
C McRae |
Ford |
1.35.500 |
|
2 |
D Auriol |
Toyota |
1.35.900 |
|
3 |
T Makinen |
Mitsubishi |
1.36.000 |
|
4 |
J Kankkunen |
Subaru |
1.36.100 |
|
5 |
F Loix |
Mitsubishi |
1.36.400 |
|
6 |
H Rovanpera |
SEAT |
1.36.500 |
|
7 |
R Burns |
Subaru |
1.36.600 |
|
8 |
N Bates |
Toyota |
1.36.600 |
|
9 |
T Radstrom |
Ford |
1.37.000 |
|
10 |
T Gardemeister |
SEAT |
1.37.300 |
Share Or Save This Story
Why Hamilton now has everything in the right place at Ferrari
Green wins again as GB4 title race heats up at Oulton Park
Alpine continues quest to fix Gasly's mystifying car issues
Oulton Park round sets up thrilling British GT 2026 title fight
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments