Sebastien Loeb has gone fastest on the opening stage of Rally Italia Sardegna to take an early lead on the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Running fifth on the road in his Citroen DS3 WRC, Loeb, who clinched his ninth world crown on the previous round in France, was 1.4s quicker than team-mate Mikko Hirvonen.
Jari-Matti Latvala, who elected to start first on the road in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, was fifth quickest, 15.3s down on Loeb. He said: “I was hoping to lose no more than 10s but the main thing is to look overall at the two stages, not just the first stage. We have taken a risk and now we will see how it works.”
Petter Solberg was third best in his works Fiesta. Mads Ostberg had been fastest through the opening three timing splits but slipped back nearing the end of the run. He was fourth quickest in his Adapta Fiesta, 1.2s down on fellow Norwegian Solberg.
Ott Tanak reported losing time by running on hard compound tyres with all key rivals opting for soft compound rubber.