With six out of six fastest stage times accomplished today, Citroen Sport driver Sebastien Loeb dominated the opening leg of Rallye de France-Tour de Corse at the wheel of his trusty C4 WRC. The Frenchman now leads title rival and Ford team driver Mikko Hirvonen by 32.3 seconds.

However, fortunes were different for Dani Sordo aboard the other works Citroen car. After setting a pair of one-two finishes for the team right from the start, the Spaniard went off-road and was unable to resume his course. Damages to his car will be repaired during the evening and Sordo should return to the asphalt roads of Corsica tomorrow.

Mikko Hirvonen is second overall while Ford teammate Francois Duval completes the provisional podium. Both Ford Focus RS drivers were battling it out today, and with only 1.7 seconds between them, the fight for overall second place will continue tomorrow.

Petter Solberg said before the event even began that he knew the Subaru team's place would be fifth overall in the general standings. That proved to be true, and with Dani Sordo's retirement, Solberg was able to do one better and clinch fourth place.

Stobart Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala presently sits in fifth position, followed by sixth-placed Chris Atkinson aboard a second works Subaru Impreza - both are less than five seconds away from Solberg.

Despite finding themselves over two minutes away from the rally leader, the seventh position currently held by the Suzuki team's Toni Gardemeister promises to be hotly contested tomorrow: Andreas Mikkelsen, Brice Tirabassi and Urmo Aava are all hovering close by.

Apart from Sordo's problems, Henning Solberg also encountered unexpected delays of his own. He lost nearly five minutes with a puncture that proved troublesome to change when his Stobart Ford car fell off the jack.

DRIVER QUOTES AFTER DAY ONE IN CORSICA

Sebastien Loeb:

"It's been an excellent day. We pushed hard and now we've got a good lead. I think I will stay on this pace now in order to remain concentrated."

Mikko Hirvonen:

"I tried to stay in touch, but there was nothing I could do. It's been a good opening leg despite everything, and the car is good. But that's just not enough against Sebastien."

François Duval:

"We are third for the moment and that's a good result, even though I hoped to be closer to Sebastien this evening."

Petter Solberg:

"It's been a good stage. I'm very satisfied. We've changed the settings and it's all very positive."

Jari-Matti Latvala:

"Everything is OK. It's a good fight with Chris and Petter and I think that's going to carry on throughout the weekend."

Chris Atkinson:

"We've found some better settings on the car. Everything is heading in the right direction."