Well, after four stages, the new Peugeot 307 looks to be a fine successor for the 206. Marcus Gronholm currently leads the rally by 8 seconds over Sebastien Loeb and 11 seconds over Ford’s Markko Martin. Each of the three has taken a stage win so far. The conditions have been typical Monte — snow and ice, with wet and dry tarmac mixed in. Tyre choice for this afternoon’s stages will be critical, as the snow and ice may begin to melt, leaving either slush or wet tarmac for the cars to deal with.

Ford is looking strong at the moment, with Francois Duval holding fourth place, and Citroen Carlos Sainz holding fifth. Reigning world champion Petter Solberg is currently eighth, over a minute off the pace. Mitsubishi is doing fine for itself on it’s return to the championship, with Gigi Galli holding ninth place, and Gilles Panizzi in eleventh.

Update

At the end of day one, Sebastien Loeb has taken the lead, and has an 18 second cushion over Markko Martin and Marcus Gronholm. Gronholm lost most of his time thanks to some gearbox issues, including what appears to be a bad ratio choice on SS5. Carlos Sainz has moved into fourth, just over a minute off the pace, followed by Francois Duval and Petter Solberg. Solberg has been hampered by the distinction of running first (a “perk” of being the reigning champion), so expect him to put his foot down tomorrow and pick up a place or two.

Posted on 23 January 2004