Rally Ireland stage abandoned due to flooding

The rest of the first day's action at Rally Ireland has been abandoned due to flooding.

Some of the route on Stages 7 and 8 have been declared unsafe, and will not be raced on this evening.

Sebastien Loeb leads Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo by 44 seconds after a rain-sodden opening day, with the BP Ford Abu Dhabi of Mikko Hirvonen in third.

Leading Irishmen are Gareth MacHale in ninth and Eamonn Boland in 10th.

Gordon Noble, clerk of the course for the rally, said: “We are especially disappointed for all the fans who were looking forward to seeing the starts of the FIA World Rally Championship on their doorstep.

“All we can do now is look forward to better conditions tomorrow when day two will begin with Sloughan Glen near Omagh.”