Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin drew first blood with the fastest time of 2min 18.1sec on the short opening stage of the 58th Vodafone Rally of Portugal on the sea front at Figuera da Foz.
The Welshman beat a tying Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tanak by two-tenths of a second to hold the overnight lead.
José Pedro Fontes was handed road-opening duties for the first stage, which ran over a dry asphalt roads. The Portuguese was followed by leading WRC2 drivers, Fabrizio Zaldivar, Gus Greensmith, Oliver Solberg and Yohan Rossel, and then the 12 Rally1 crews in reverse order.
Briton Gus Greensmith was the fastest of the early runners in WRC2.
Car 33. EVANS/MARTIN
“We will find out tomorrow. We have to just try and forget the situation and try to enjoy the event. If I can just me driving well and have a good feeling in the car, that’s the priority for me.”
Car 1. NEUVILLE/WYDAEGHE
“A little bit of luck, consistency, speed and a reliable car tomorrow. Hopefully, a lot of fun.”
Car 8. TÄNAK/JÄRVEOJA
“Yes, we had more fun than last year when we had to save the tyres. It is a little mickey mouse but you still have to keep the focus. It’s a good start for the rally.”
Car 17. OGIER/LANDAIS
“It’s been okay. A clean stage for me. It was still important not to make any mistakes. A lot of energy tomorrow and we will need to be awake. We will need a decent set-up to have a good pace.”
Car 16. FOURMAUX/CORIA
“Well, we need to take everything we can. Last year we had to manage the tyre. I had a clean stage. I am quite happy. Now the real stages are tomorrow. It’s going to be a real long day (tomorrow).”
Car 69. ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN
“Tomorrow is going to be a big challenge and a bit of cleaning the whole day. I think my clock is waking up at 5am tomorrow. Not happy about that, but that’s life.”
Car 18. KATSUTA/JOHNSTON
“We can do 20 times this stage, then that is good this weekend. It is a nice tyre. We need to understand more…”
Car 5. PAJARI/SALMINEN
“That stage was a bit personal for me, not great memories. I just wanted to go through it. Tomorrow will be a long day but I am looking forward.”
Car 13. MUNSTER/LOUKA
“The doughnuts are a bit different to last year. Normally you need to be clean and tidy. I like a bit more a handbrake pull on the doughnuts.”
Car 22. SESKS/FRANCIS
“It’s amazing. It was tricky a little bit. It was our first time on the hard tyre. It’s a pleasure to be back.”
Car 55. MCERLEAN/TREACY
“First of all, it is super nice to be here up front in Rally1. I am super excited to get going. Hopefully it’s a positive vibe tomorrow afternoon.”
Car 2. SALVI/CORONADO
“Doughnuts, is my achilles tendon (heel). It is what it is. It is fantaic to see so many guys, a fantastic stage.”
Car 20. SOLBERG/EDMONDSON
“First time I drive the super special, I didn’t know what to expect. It was great with the people and I could do some doughnuts legally!”
Car 21. ROSSEL/DUNAND
“The plan is just to complete the day tomorrow. I hope to play for the win. Let’s see if we can do it this weekend. I was happy with the feeling this morning on shakedown.”
Car 23. GREENSMITH/ANDERSSON
“At least this year we can see the doughnuts. Excited is the wrong word (for tomorrow). Ready, I would say..”
Car 24. ZALDIVAR/DER OHANNESIAN
“It’s a special day. Now we need to focus on the job. This was a tricky stage and it is easy to make a mistake. We took it easy. Let’s see tomorrow where we are.”
Car 51. FONTES/PONTE
“I am a lucky guy. I enjoy a lot. It is very important for our sport, the Rally of Portugal. We are very happy to be here. Tomorrow will be a great day.”