Latvala leads Welsh Rally after eventful opening day

Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala held a 12.9-second lead at the end of an action-packed opening day of the Wales Rally GB, as hail, sleet, ice and torrential rain caused major problems for the World Rally Championship fraternity.

The Finn took the lead on stage six – on a day when stages one and four, both run through Hafren, were cancelled due to icy conditions – to open up a healthy lead over world champion Sebastian Loeb and Suzuki’s Per-Gunnar Andersson.