Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja have edged out to an early lead in Rally New Zealand, as Shane van Gisbergen impresses on his World Rally Championship debut.

After topping the timesheets in the opening Super Special Stage at Rally New Zealand, the Hyundai Motorsport pairing paced the field on Friday morning to hold a 2.6s advantage over M-Sport Ford WRT’s Craig Breen/Paul Nagle, with Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin in third after the morning loop.

Breen excelled in the wet conditions in the Whaanga Coast stage, holding onto a slim advantage after the opening Te Akau South leg, before Tänak returned to the top in his Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 after Te Akau North, as Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson, Evans/ Martin, and Tänak/Järveoja clinched a stage win apiece.

Greensmith/Andersson, Sébastien Ogier/Benjamin Veillas, Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen, Thierry Neuville/Martin Wydaeghe (1:50.3s), Oliver Solberg/ Elliot Edmondson, Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston, and WRC2 pacesetters Hayden Paddon/John Kennard rounded out the top 10.

Paddon/Kennard were the class of the field in WRC2, claiming the opening two stages on Friday morning to hold a 33.8s advantage heading into the afternoon.

Van Gisbergen/Glen Weston finished the morning third in class/13th overall.

Harry Bates/John McCarthy also impressed on debut in WRC2, finishing second fastest in the opening Whaanga Coast leg and third fastest in Te Akau North to finish the morning fourth in class/14th overall.

New Zealanders Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn finished the morning fifth class/15th overall, with Australian privateer pairing Luke Anear/Andy Sarandis in sixth in class/16th overall.

Friday action continues with the a repeat of the morning loop, from 14:22 local time/11:22 AEST.

Stan Sport’s live and ad-free coverage resumes tomorrow with Special Stage 8 from 05:00 AEST.