RALLY FRANCE Day one: 77.77 miles; 4 stages Weather:

RALLY ESSENTIALS

sunny 13-24°C Sebastien Ogier is the master of day one, winning three from four stages to open up a half-minute lead. Ogier’s countryman Sebastien Loeb is his closest rival on stage one and then the day’s biggest casualty one stage later. The nine-time champion’s out after running out of road on a left-hander near the start of SS2. A great fight is developing for second with three different drivers holding the provisional runners up spot in four stages. Ultimately, Thierry Neuville ends Friday in P2 despite early brake trouble. He is five seconds up on Kris Meeke with Ott Tanak a similar distance back in fourth. Esapekka Lappi is impressing in fifth, his Toyota Yaris WRC is the only car other than Ogier’s Ford Fiesta WRC to win a stage today. The atmosphere in the #9 car is very different to the other Finnish Yaris, that of Jari-matti Latvala. Toyota’s team leader is eighth, 1m25s off the lead and in a world of pain courtesy of his car’s loose rear end. Sordo declares himself Hyundai’s gravel specialist after his high-flying second last time out in Mexico, but the real-time Tar charger is struggling with a lack of frontend grip from his car. Elfyn Evans and Phil Mills enjoy a solid first day in a Ford Fiesta WRC together to place the second M-sport car just three tenths behind Sordo on Friday night.

End of day one:

From the moment he inverted the Fiesta in Mexico last month, this event was always going to be compromised. Such a shame, had Dan Barritt been alongside, they would have challenged Ogier. Not taking anything away from super-sub Phil Mills.