Ott Tanak leads in Monte Carlo after the opening two stages of the 2019 World Rally Championship, ahead of Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville.
Tanak went fastest of all in the first test, five seconds quicker than Toyota team-mate Kris Meeke who flew in his first competitive run in the Yaris.
An early puncture in the second stage of the evening dropped Meeke down to seventh, while Tanak was also off the pace of 2018 title rivals Ogier and Neuville.
Reigning champion Ogier set two consistent times to sit in second going into Friday's stages on his first weekend back with the Citroen team.
Neuville took the gamble of using four slick tyres, which negatively affected him in the opening snowy stage but allowed him to make up time in the second where he topped the timesheets.
Esapekka Lappi found it difficult to trust the grip levels over the changing icy conditions, although the Finn finished the evening in fourth.
Jari-Matti Latvala was over 46 seconds down on leading team-mate Tanak and complained that the suspension on his Yaris was too soft for the conditions.
Elfyn Evans holds sixth, ahead of the returning Meeke.
Sebastien Loeb finished the evening down in eighth, with his decision to run all winter tyres working against him in the second drier stage, although it did help to get him into fourth in the first run of the event.
It was a similar story for Andreas Mikkelsen who used the same tyre strategy and sits behind his Hyundai team-mate.
Pontus Tidemand is at the back of the WRC runners in his first of two confirmed outings in 2019.
Leading Positions:
1. O. Tanak (Toyota) 26:33.0
2. S. Ogier (Citroen) +9.1s
3. T. Neuville (Hyundai) +14.3s
4. E. Lappi (Citroen) +45.2s
5. J. Latvala (Toyota) +46.4s
6. E. Evans (M-Sport) +48.2s
7. K. Meeke (Toyota) +53.8s
8. S. Loeb (Hyundai) +55.2s
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