Hanninen leads, but Mikkelsen fastest

For some of the competitors this was not so much a 17.68km rampage through the forest as a calculated exercise in risk minimisation with the overnight sanctuary of the service park in mind. But Juho Hänninen could not afford to ease the pace with Andreas Mikkelsen within striking distance and Kris Meeke was determined not to give up.

Mikkelsen fired a warning shot by guiding his M-Sport Fiesta around in 9m55.5s, fastest of all and 0.9s quicker than Hänninen’s Škoda.

"That was very good, I had a good rhythm through the stage," said Mikkelsen. "I’m really happy with the way our development has gone. If they want me to go for the win then I’ll try but otherwise I’ll go for the podium."

"I had no problems out there," said Hänninen. "It was maybe a little more slippery than the morning but it was really enjoyable to drive and the car is working perfectly."

Remarkably, Meeke only dropped 11.8s to Hänninen over the course of the stage and was fourth fastest behind Thierry Neuville’s Peugeot. "We’ve only got about 50 per cent of the front brakes with the temporary repair," he said. "So it’s virtually impossible to drive."

Also on a charge was Euan Thorburn in the Ralliart Lancer Evo IX, setting 10m24.4s to go fifth quickest while his Group N rivals suffered. David Bogie lost five minutes with a slow stop to replace a punctured tyre while a broken shock absorber continued to hamper Jonathan Greer.

"I never felt the car hitting a rock," said Bogie. "It was the same section where Kris Meeke got his puncture. The jack was a bit slow going up, but it’s the same for all of us out there. Other people have had punctures and that’s just what happens on this kind of surface."

Tom Cave recorded a 10m32.4s to bring himself up to fifth place overall in the Proton Satria. "I tried to push towards the end to make up some time for this morning. I’m a bit gutted that Keith [Cronin] stopped earlier on because I’ve got nobody to compare with now."

Overall positions after SS8:

Stages 5 and 8 Errochty

The second longest stage of Day 1 at nearly 18 kilometres, Errochty climbs over Cragan Liath Mor through Tummel Forest to emerge down by the shores of Loch Tummel. This test starts off very technical with many twists and hairpins before opening up to a very fast, flowing blast over the top of the hill. The forestry have been heavily harvesting this area and for those competitors who perhaps ‘cut’ a line too aggressively, there is the real danger of a puncture that will end in a timely loss in a stage of this length. Both runnings of this stage will feature live Eurosport TV coverage.

Guy Wilks says: “Very fast once again – absolutely flat out in places. Some sections are quite open, so spectators can see the rally cars for a long time. The last few kilometres from last year aren’t being used this year to accommodate the live television broadcast for Eurosport on this stage. With the open sections there should be fantastic footage from the helicopter for those at home."