Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier took the Rally Australia lead at the end of a very competitive first day that consisted of eight special stages and saw three different drivers take hold of first place.
Ogier lead the way after the first two special stages, but it was Citroen’s Kris Meeke who knocked him off the lead to take hold of the rally on the third special stage. Meeke remained on top until the seventh special stage when Volkswagen’s Latvala moved to the top before being demoted to second by Ogier on the day’s final stage (SS8).
Ogier is now just 0.4 seconds ahead of Latvala in the overall standings after the eighth special, followed by Andreas Mikkelsen who’s a further 3 seconds behind. Kris Meeke is the fastest non-Volkswagen driver, he’s fourth overall and just 0.6 seconds behind Mikkelsen.
Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi leads the WRC 2 pack, 7 seconds ahead of Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah.
