Neuville leads soggy Rally Poland

Thierry Neuville heads a tight three-way fight at the front at the end of a wet opening day at Rally Poland.

The Hyundai drivers heads the Ford of Ott Tanak by just 1.3sec, with Jari-Matti Latvala’s Toyota a further 5.3sec back.

All three led during the leg as heavy rain and mud provided little grip on the sandy tracks.

The early starters had the best of the conditions in the morning as they churned up the soft gravel in their wake. The roles were reversed after lunch as they ploughed through water-filled ruts and thick sludge to leave a quicker line for those behind.

Neuville quickly relegated Elfyn Evans, who won the opening night’s curtain-raising speed test. Latvala shrugged off the handicap of broken windscreen wipers to edge ahead and finish the morning with a 4.5sec advantage; the biggest lead of the day.

He was less confident as conditions changed and Tanak deposed him, but the Estonian’s reign at the top was brief. A charging Neuville won two consecutive speed tests, taking his tally to four, to regain top spot.

“It’s been a good start to this rally for us, even if the conditions have been very demanding throughout the day,”said Neuville.

“To take the team’s 50th stage win of the season in SS5 was a nice way to finish the morning loop. We added another two wins in the afternoon as the conditions improved.

“The fight for the lead has been close and I don’t expect that to change over the next two days. We’re in a good position but there’s a lot more to come from everyone and more surprises I’m sure.”

Sebastien Ogier was in the thick of the fight early on. As road opener, the Ford driver endured the worst of the afternoon conditions and slipped to fourth, 35.1sec off the lead and ending the day with a smashed windscreen.

Hayden Paddon was a risk-free fifth, the Kiwi closing on Ogier all afternoon in his Hyundai. The gap was 4.5sec. Team-mate Dani Sordo battled the inconsistent grip but was sixth, despite a stall and a spin.

“After the rain, we expected very tricky, muddy conditions this morning, and that’s exactly what we got,”said Paddon.

“The grip was changing from one corner to the next, and it felt like driving on ice at times.

“When we’re on a level playing field, we can definitely be up there with the front-runners, so I’m hoping for better weather as the weekend continues, so we can enjoy these incredibly fast and fun stages. I’m definitely not here to settle for fifth!”

Teemu Suninen (Ford) excelled in seventh on his World Rally Car debut. The Finn won the afternoon’s opening test on only his sixth stage at the top level. Juho Hanninen (Toyota), who overcame a final stage misfire, Stephane Lefebvre (Citroen) and Mads Ostberg (Ford) completed the leaderboard.

Andreas Mikkelsen hovered at the bottom of the leaderboard until he damaged his Citroen rear left suspension against a tree and dropped 90sec. He was 12th.

Craig Breen drove all morning with just two-wheel drive after his C3 broke a driveshaft. He dropped more than seven minutes and the afternoon was little better.

Esapekka Lappi was the only major retirement. He was fifth when he damaged the front right suspension after cutting a corner. Related damage to the engine oil system will prevent the Finn from restarting on Saturday.

VIDEO: Morning Stages

VIDEO: Afternoon stages

Overall Classification after Day One