Elfyn Evans was first on the road for the opening stage of the 59th running of the event. The Welshman had the unenviable task of carrying out surface cleaning duties and carded the target time of 11min 06.7sec. He got the better of team-mates Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari and also pipped Oliver Solberg in the fourth Toyota.
Adrien Fourmaux pipped Evans by just one-tenth of a second to take the stage win but a struggling Sébastien Ogier dropped five seconds to the Frenchman. Thierry Neuville also struggled with his pace on the deteriorating stage surface and ceded 6.3 seconds to Fourmaux. Dani Sordo finished fourth behind Solberg, but the stage win and the early lead went to Hyundai and Fourmaux.
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
“Better than first on the road. Quite okay grip but I was struggling with under steer. Make a fine tune now and we should be okay for the next one.”
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“Not great, very loose. That was to be expected. I have to make the most of it. It’s going to be tough but we know this and will do the best we can.”
Car 99. SOLBERG/EDMONDSON
“I was very careful in the very narrow bit in the forest and I was careful to take care of the tyres on the tarmac. Back on gravel now and I am very happy.”
Car 5. PAJARI/SALMINEN
“Let’s see. This is a really different rally to the ones we have done recently. I am trying to have a good pace. It’s tricky to judge in the conditions we have. I am not used to having this position on the road. ”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“It is quite a difficult stage. There was a lot of loose and some times we have some rocks. I was careful on the last bit with the tarmac.”
Car 1. OGIER/LANDAIS
“I was struggling with the car, balance not good. We need to do something.”
Car 11. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“It was okay. It was not a bad stage. I lost a bit on the last hairpin. It felt like a driveshaft had gone but it was just wheelspin.”
Car 95. ARMSTRONG/BYRNE
Hard compound tyres for the stage. “It’s great to be on an event like this one. We are going through tomorrow with no service and we have to keep that at the back of our mind. We are trying to save the softs for the rest of the rally.”
Car 55. MCERLEAN/TREACY
“It’s not so bad. It was better than I thought initially. The next one is longer. It’s not a bad start.”
Car 22. SESKS/FRANCIS
“I think we are a bit rusty. There was some fun. At some point it felt okay and then it didn’t again.”
Car 6. SORDO/CARRERA
Three hard tyres and one soft. “I was not driving perfectly. I was happy with the balance of the car. It was amazing to drive. There were some parts that I didn’t attack too much. The car is working very good - congrats to the guys.”
Car 20. KORHONEN/VIINIKKA
“It felt quite rough when I came to the tarmac section. I slowed down a bit. There were some rocks in the road.”
Car 21. ROSSEL/DUNAND
“Feel good. I think I don’t have the full package to be fast on this one. A good start for me.”
Car 24. DAPRÀ/GUGLIELMETTI
“Should be something better. It was really tough. I expected more grip. We need to focus on doing something better for the next stage.”
Car 25. GRYAZIN/ALEKSANDROV
“It’s more rutted and not easy to feel the balance of the car. We need to adjust a little bit for the next one.”