Gronholm grabs early lead

Reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm took a predicted early lead after the opening tests of the New Zealand Rally in Auckland.

His English team-mate Richard Burns was also quick but is currently fourth behind the new Ford Focus of Estonian driver Markko Martin and the Subaru of Norway’s Petter Solberg.

Despite forecasts for dry weather, rain hit the second and third stages and negated the advantage held by later runners who were banking on the early cars clearing the course of loose gravel.

Citroen’s Spanish driver Carlos Sainz said: “At the end of the second stage I could hardly see where I was going, the rain was so hard.”

Citroen are making their debut in the Kiwi event and the team that has won two of the three events so far this season are clearly struggling to find form over here.

Sainz is back in eighth ahead of his French team-mate Sebastien Loeb while Briton Colin McRae is already a distant 15th, over a minute off the lead, and just one place ahead of his younger brother Alister who is making a return to the Series with a private Mitsubishi.