In the last short stages for day 1 Chris Atkinson show a progress with a stage win SS12 Super Special 2 (2.21km). Chris was second in the first pass of SS11 Super Special 1 (2.21km) while Nasser Al-Attiyah wins the stage.
Results after SS 12:
1. S. Loeb 1:24:46.4
2. M. Hirvonen +11.2
3. M. Ostberg +1:11.9
4. J. Latvala +1:27.9
5. P. Solberg +1:35.4
6. O. Tanak +1:36.7
7. E. Novikov +2:02.0
8. C. Atkinson +2:33.7
Petter Solberg rally comments:
We’ve shown a lot of pace from the very start, winning the Qualifying stage. When things go well, they go very well. We’ve never had a better start to the season and there’s still a long way to go on this rally so I’m not giving up: we can do well here.
The bad luck we’ve had with the punctures has just been unbelievable. Two punctures in the morning were bad enough but then a third one in the afternoon - who would have thought that? There were rocks everywhere: I tried my best to avoid them but obviously it was not enough.”