Latvala leads disrupted GB rally

Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala led the Wales Rally GB after an opening day that saw the first and fourth stages cancelled because of ice on the roads.

Both stages would have been on the same route in Hafren forest, but a safety delegate drove the section on Friday and decided it was unsafe.

In the remaining stages, Finland's Latvala earned a 12.9-second lead over world champion Sebastian Loeb.

Suzuki's Per-Gunnar Andersson was third, with GB's Matthew Wilson 10th.

"At the start our de-misting blower broke but luckily the heating element in the screen kept it clear enough," said Latvala.

"But in some places the wipers just couldn't wipe fast enough. They were unbelievable conditions."

606: DEBATE
"Please correct me as I fail to see the problem with ice on rally stages"
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Junior World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier held the lead for most of the day on his full senior debut, before a gearbox problem on his Citroen C4 dropped him down the order.

Latvala's team-mate, and last year's Rally GB winner, Mikko Hirvonen is down in 28th place after rolling his Ford Focus on stage five.

Fellow Ford driver Francois Duval suffered a spin on stage six and Australian Chris Atkinson crashed his Subaru just 180 metres into stage seven.

A Subaru spokesman said: "He is out of the car and has been taken away by ambulance. Chris was airlifted to hospital after receiving a knock on the head, so he has been taken in for observation."

MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi finished the opening day in 27th place.

The rally had begun with a ceremonial stage in Cardiff on Thursday evening.

It is the final event of the 2008 World Rally Championship, which was clinched by Loeb after the penultimate event in Japan last month.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
BBC Wales - Rally GB guide
Wales Rally GB: Latest positions (from wrc.com)
Wales Rally GB
World Rally Championship
FIA
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