Petter Solberg has run consistently in all the 1st day stages, but he seems to have trouble finding the right setup and, thus, pace. The battle for the front is still between Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) and Sebastien Loeb (Citroen). Chris Atkinson was having a strong rally but crashed and rolled his WRC Impreza WRX STI. His car was towed into service following the super special at the end of the day. STI mechanics were given a 3-hour service session with which to repair the car. They had to change the windshield, hood, fenders, supports, bumper, cooling system, carbon ducting, brake ducting, suspension, suspension arms, wheels, tires, and various other parts. The car was surprisingly good shape considering it had rolled and the outlook was that there was no engine damage despite the fact that the oil cooler had ripped on the course and dropped the car's oil. Atkinson seems to have shut the car down quick enough for the loss of oil pressure.
In the PWRC class, Subaru Japan factory driver Toshi Arai's 2008 STI got hit by some road debris and punctured his radiator. Ken Block was taken out early in the first stage with a ripped rear suspension. Both cars are being serviced and are expected to run tomorow.