Citroen C4 WRC driver Sebastien Loeb streaked into an early lead of ADAC Rally Deutschland by setting the fastest time on Friday’s opening stage.
The Citroen team leader completed the 24.01km Ruwertal/Fell test 5.4sec quicker than his nearest rival, his team-mate Dani Sordo. Jari-Matti Latvala was third fastest in his Ford Focus RS WRC.
Petter Solberg dropped 2min 36sec to the leaders when his Citroen picked up a flat tyre. The Norwegian stopped 11.3km from the start to change the wheel.
Khalid Al Qassimi also hit problems early on. The BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver went off the road 1.5km from the start and had to wait for spectators to push his car out of a ditch.