Sebastian Loeb leads after opening day of Salou's rally

Salou in Tarragona provided a stunning setting for Friday's opening six stages of the Rally of Spain, the 12th of 15 events on this year's calendar.

Citroen driver and championship leader Sebastian Loeb started as overwhelming favourite to win the race for a fourth successive time.The French defending world champion again showed his liking for the event's sealed surfaces, eclipsing his rivals in all six time-trial stages. On a good day for Citroen, Loeb's teammate and local hope Daniel Sordo was second fastest.The Spaniard, who's third in the championship, finished stage six 15.8 seconds off the pace.

Ford teammates Francois Duval and Mikko Hirvonen were third and fourth quickest respectively. Duval was 2.8 seconds faster than Hirvonen, who's hoping to put pressure on Loeb in the race for the world title.

Loeb entered the rally eight points clear of his Finnish rival, who has a lot of work to do after finishing stage six 44.1 seconds behind the Frenchman.

Norway's Petter Solberg put in a solid display for Subaru, finishing fifth on the day. Estonia's Urmo Aava was a further eight seconds back in a Mitsubishi. Some drivers had trouble controlling their cars on the tarmac roads.

Finland's Toni Gardemeister spun his Skoda but still managed to finish 10th, while Per-Gunnar Andersson of Sweden escaped unhurt after crashing his Suzuki.

Shotlist: Salou, Spain. October 3rd, 2008.

1. 00:00 Wide scenic shot of Salou
2. 00:06 Sebastian Loeb starting
3. 00:21 Various of Daniel Sordo in action
4. 00:34 Various of Francois Duval in action
5. 00:47 Various of Mikko Hirvonen in action
6. 00:54 Various of Petter Solberg in action
7. 01:05 Urmo Aava in action
8. 01:14 Toni Gardemeister in action
9. 01:18 Gardemeister spins his Skoda
10. 01:24 Per-Gunnar Andersson crashes his Suzuki