Ford leads Repco Rally New Zealand after first morning

With BP Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala setting the fastest time on the opening stage of Repco Rally New Zealand and team-mate Mikko Hirvonen quickest through the second, the Ford duo lead the rally after the morning's first two stages.

The Ford team is in full attack mode, taking advantage of the slight disadvantage that Sébastien Loeb faces running first on the road.

After the morning's two stages in the Waitomo and Otorohanga districts covering 67.43 km, Hirvonen has the quickest elapsed time of 46:35.3 with Latvala just 0:05.3 seconds slower. Loeb is just 0:09.4 seconds behind Hirvonen.

Loeb, defending world champion, expressed his displeasure with gravel and the specified hard compound Pirelli tyres after the morning's first stage, Pirongia West. "This gravel is un-driveable with hard tyres without any cuts. The start of the stage was okay, but got worse."

Hirvonen, on the other hand, came through the first run of the now two-part Waitomo stage saying he's never had such a good rhythm in New Zealand. "When I have that kind of rhythm on these flowing roads, it feels as if I don't need to push too hard. The roads have dried more quickly than we thought and it's slippery in the loose gravel. But I don't think road position is making too much difference."

Latvala was also pleased that his confidence was returning after problems at the last WRC round in Germany. "Although I made a few small mistakes, my driving was more precise and much better. The roads are quite dry but where it is wet, the tracks are really slippery. They're not cleaning up as much as I thought."

As the WRC teams head into their lunchtime service, Dani Sordo and Chris Atkinson complete the top five, while Richard Mason is the best of the New Zealanders, holding 13th place.

Friday afternoon's stages commence just after 2pm with a repeat of the Pirongia West and Waitomo stages before the teams run the Mystery Creek super special stage for the first time from 5pm. The day's activities conclude with the top three WRC drivers attending press conference in the public entertainment area and the Repco rally chick show for fans to enjoy at Mystery Creek Events Centre.

On Saturday the teams rally through Raglan and Franklin, with competitors in the Possum Bourne Memorial Rally following the WRC, Production WRC and other New Zealand and international competitors through the day's six stages. The final day's action takes in stages south of Raglan, including the iconic Whaanga Coast stage before concluding at Hamilton's Mystery Creek Event Centre about 2pm.

More details and results can be found on the event website www.rallynz.org.nz.