Elfyn Evans took a surprise lead on the opening day of Rally Argentina, as the M-Sport driver built an impressive 55 second gap to second place.
Evans took six consecutive speed test victories on Friday in his Ford Fiesta to literally leave the competition in his dust on the gravel roads.
M-Sport team-mate Mads Østberg was second by the end of the day on his WRC return with a relatively close field of cars behind. Thierry Neuville was third for Hyundai, a further five seconds back, in a tight battle for the opening podium.
Neuville wasn't without problems though as a broken front damper and a puncture delayed the Belgian, who struggled further when dust found its way into his Hyundai i20 and into his eyes, causing him some visibility issues.
Sébastien Ogier struggled too as he first slid into a ditch during the morning and then bent the steering in his Fiesta after hitting a rock as he landed over a crest. He finished six seconds behind Neuville in fourth and just under five seconds ahead of team-mate Ott Tänak.
Jari Latvala was sixth for Toyota, but had been second at one stage until his engine overheated, delaying him. A puncture during the penultimate stage puncture cost him a further 30s and he fell down the order.
Hayden Paddon was seventh after a roll in his i20, with Lorenzo Bertelli eighth, ahead of Juho Hänninen.
WRC 2 leader Pontus Tidemand completed the top-ten leaderboard.
Kris Meeke retired from second place when he ended up in the bushes after a bad landing, whilst the second Citröen of Craig Breen also hit trouble when his gearbox jammed in fifth, forcing him to stop.
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