MäRTIN IDEALLY PLACED FOR FORD AFTER FIRST DAY IN CYPRUS

Ford BP Rallye Sport drivers Markko Märtin and Michael Park ended today's gruelling opening leg of the Cyprus Rally in fourth place in their Focus RS World Rally Car. The FIA World Rally Championship leaders mixed caution with speed over rock-strewn tracks high in the mountains of the Mediterranean island to end the day 21.0sec behind the leader and less than a second from third.

They were fastest through the last of the day's six speed tests which covered 121.78km in the northernmost part of the Troodos Mountains. That represented the perfect ending to a day fought out in temperatures approaching 30°C, on tracks so twisty that drivers rarely reach fourth gear and on a surface littered with rocks so big that they can stop a car in its tracks.

After huge pre-event delays caused by the late arrival in Cyprus of the boat carrying teams' rally cars and support vehicles, there was relief that the three-day event started on schedule. Two identical loops of three special stages lay in wait and, as championship leaders, Märtin and Park faced the considerable disadvantage of tackling the tests first.

Slippery gravel covered the road surface and the 28-year-old Estonian driver ploughed the loose stones, struggling to find traction and creating a cleaner and faster line for those behind to follow. The Ford BP team had estimated Märtin could lose 60 seconds in the opening 60km loop but he returned to service in the rally base of Lemesos just 40.6sec behind the leader in fifth. Repeated stages in the afternoon ensured a clean line for all and Märtin was third fastest on two tests before winning the final stage to climb to fourth.

"There were no lines for us to follow this morning so it was quite difficult," said Märtin. "I started with the aim of keeping out of trouble and I didn't consider then how much time I could lose. Even though we dropped 40 seconds I thought it would have been worse. It's hard to regain lost time but we had only done three stages and the tests this afternoon used the same roads, so they were clean. We had a small differential problem this afternoon. But the second loop was much better for us than this morning, although the second pass through the long stage was incredibly rough. Overall it's been a good day.

"Tomorrow we will have a much better road position which will ensure cleaner lines. The people starting behind us will have a small advantage only," he added.

Tyres absorb severe punishment in the rough conditions and high temperatures. Märtin punctured tyres on each of the opening two stages but Michelin's ATS anti-deflation mousse kept the rubber inflated. "We had to start the third stage with a punctured tyre because we only carry one spare but it wasn't a problem. The mousse did its job perfectly," he said.

Ford BP team-mates François Duval and Stéphane Prévot had no time to make an impact. The Belgians retired on the opening stage when the nuts sheared on the front left wheel of their Focus RS, 5km from the finish of the 38.32km test. "I felt a vibration from the wheel and it was difficult to turn the car to the right," said 22-year-old Duval. "Then the brake pedal started to go to the floor and after about 2km the wheel came off the car. We were driving in second gear and I didn't hit anything so I really don't know what happened."

Team director Malcolm Wilson admitted he did not know why the wheel nuts sheared. "We will make further investigations in the laboratories at M-Sport to analyse why it happened," he said.

"I'm really pleased Markko is only just over 20 seconds from the lead. We expected him to lose one second/km this morning but he did much better than that. He had a traction problem this afternoon which was traced back to the centre differential but we are on top of that," he added.

News from our Rivals Petter Solberg (Subaru) took an early lead over Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) but on the first stage of the afternoon loop the Norwegian hit problems. Sand blocked his car's radiator and the engine reverted to 'safe' mode. He cleaned the radiator at the end of the stage with drinking water but the problem arose again on the next two stages. He had to stop briefly during the penultimate test and dropped more than nine minutes in total to lie 11th. Grönholm moved into a clear lead despite clutch troubles on the final two stages. Team-mate Harri Rovanperä made the most of a low start position to hold second, despite a small gearbox problem this morning. Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) made a slow start but modified his car's differential settings and then set two fastest times to lie third. Behind Märtin is Carlos Sainz (Citroen). The Spaniard was third until he lost time on the final stage with no tread on his car's left rear tyre. Mikko Hirvonen (Subaru) was untroubled en route to sixth. Gilles Panizzi (Mitsubishi) was unhappy with his suspension this morning but team-mate Kristian Sohlberg suffered worse. His car's sump guard broke on the second stage, costing more than 2min 30sec and a slipping clutch throughout the afternoon cost another 11 minutes. He is 16th.

Tomorrow’s Route The second leg covers similar twisty gravel tracks and is again based out of the service park in Lemesos. It follows the same format as today, with two identical loops of three speed tests. They are located further south, close to Mt Olympus, and further west in less mountainous areas towards the coastal resort of Paphos. After leaving Lemesos at 07.45, competitors return for the final overnight halt at 18.57 after 109.56km of competition.

Leaderboard after Leg 1

1. M Grönholm/T Rautiainen FIN Peugeot 307 1hr 57min 24.6sec

2. H Rovanperä/R Pietilainen FIN Peugeot 307 1hr 57min 35.3sec

3. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroen Xsara 1hr 57min 44.7sec

4. M Märtin/M Park EE Ford Focus RS 1hr 57min 45.6sec

5. C Sainz/M Marti E Citroen Xsara 1hr 57min 51.3sec

6. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Subaru Impreza 2hr 00min 03.7sec

7. J Tuohino/J Aho FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 01min 44.1sec

8. G Panizzi/H Panizzi F Mitsubishi Lancer 2hr 01min 46.5sec

9. H Solberg/C Menkerud N Peugeot 206 2hr 03min 04.1sec

10 A Warmbold/G Price D Ford Focus RS 2hr 05min 26.2sec