The first stage of Rally Chile has been cancelled due to spectator issues.
The first three cars, Thierry Neuville, Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier, did however complete the test, with Ogier going a stunning 9.1 seconds faster than anyone else.
“All good, good start,” he said – remaining a man of few words after he was handed a suspended €30,000 fine for comments made in Greece.
Tänak was second quickest, 1.4s faster than team-mate Neuville whose priority is on maintaining a healthy gap in the championship.
Starting as first car on the road, Neuville said SS1 was “really challenging” with the grip “basically zero”, but he’s not too stressed.
“We know what’s our target,” he said, “so I didn’t dare too much in there.”
All of the cars after Ogier travelled through the stage at road speed, and were given Neuville’s time as a notional. However that is subject to being revised after SS4, the second pass of the stage.
