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9th
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Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta) took advantage of the tricky weather conditions on the first day of Rally of Spain to take the lead ahead of Sebastien Loeb (Citroen).
The rain, totally unexpected today, took everybody by surprise, especially the leading World Rally Championship drivers who elected to start in the middle of the field after qualifying stage on Thursday.
Those who started out in front benefitted from better road conditions. Mads Ostberg was able to move up into the lead after ES2. He was closely followed by Ott Tanak during the opening stages. But the young Sstonian lost time after a spin and dropped down the order.
Petter Solberg (Ford) and Thierry Neuville (Citroen) were forced to retire after they hit a rock in the very first special stage. Both men went off at the very same place, which was where Solberg went off in 2011. Neuville and Solberg will be back with rally regulation, so will be local hero Dani Sordo, who also went off with his MINI.
After a difficult start due to his starting position (he was 14th on the road), Sebastien Loeb then started to push hard, and made it up to second position at the end of the day, 27.2 seconds behind Mads Ostberg.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) is third, 47 seconds behind Ostberg. The Finn is in front of fellow countryman Mirko Hirvonen (Citroen) and Ott Tanak.
Rally de Espana - Classification after day 1:
1. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta) in 1h41'32''4
2. Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) +27''2
3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) +47''
4. Mirko Hirvonen (Citroen DS3) +1'02''6
5. Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta) +1'10''8
etc.
The rain, totally unexpected today, took everybody by surprise, especially the leading World Rally Championship drivers who elected to start in the middle of the field after qualifying stage on Thursday.
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| Mads Ostberg, Ford Fiest (Photo: WRI2) |
Those who started out in front benefitted from better road conditions. Mads Ostberg was able to move up into the lead after ES2. He was closely followed by Ott Tanak during the opening stages. But the young Sstonian lost time after a spin and dropped down the order.
Petter Solberg (Ford) and Thierry Neuville (Citroen) were forced to retire after they hit a rock in the very first special stage. Both men went off at the very same place, which was where Solberg went off in 2011. Neuville and Solberg will be back with rally regulation, so will be local hero Dani Sordo, who also went off with his MINI.
After a difficult start due to his starting position (he was 14th on the road), Sebastien Loeb then started to push hard, and made it up to second position at the end of the day, 27.2 seconds behind Mads Ostberg.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) is third, 47 seconds behind Ostberg. The Finn is in front of fellow countryman Mirko Hirvonen (Citroen) and Ott Tanak.
Rally de Espana - Classification after day 1:
1. Mads Ostberg (Ford Fiesta) in 1h41'32''4
2. Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) +27''2
3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Fiesta) +47''
4. Mirko Hirvonen (Citroen DS3) +1'02''6
5. Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta) +1'10''8
etc.