Team-mate Freddy Loix added: "That went quite well but we slid a bit wide on the hairpin and I had to come off the throttle. We lost a couple of tenths of a second, but this is not a problem because the times are all so tight".

In the Group N battle, Mitsubishi has taken the top three slots and Argentinean Gabriel Pozzo leads the contenders in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. "It was a very good stage", he said, "but it was difficult, slippery and there was no grip".

Fellow countryman Claudio Menzi was hot on his heels a mere nine-tenths of a second adrift, with 2000 Finnish Group N Champion Jani Paasonen in third. "That was no problem", commented Jani, "but I take it very easy, I didn’t want to make a mistake on this short stage".

Mitsubishi’s four-times Group N World Champion, Gustavo Trelles leads arch rival Manfred Stohl at this early stage in the event, but the pair are less than a second apart as their battle for the 2000 title goes down to the wire. "I won my heat, but my time was not so good", said Gustavo. "It’s very slippery".

"We were just driving easy", added Manfred. "It was quite slippery and too easy to make a mistake".

Former Grand Prix star Erik Comas was ten seconds adrift of the top World Championship contenders, but the Frenchman is contesting only his fourth rally. "This is also the first time I’ve driven this Evolution VI", he said, "so it was a bit of a warm up".

The real Rally Australia action starts tomorrow when the crews take to the forests for nine special stages and 196 competitive kilometres. Road positions will play a critical role in the outcome and, while the Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crews are in what should prove to be good starting positions, legs 2 and 3 will certainly see tactics coming into play as the crews vie for the ideal positions on the road.

The second section of Leg 1 starts from Perth on Friday 10 November at 09:00 hrs local (GMT+8).