Meeke takes early Sanremo lead

Kris Meeke has built an early lead on Rallye Sanremo after going fastest through the opening 12.92-kilometre Coldirodi stage in his Peugeot UK 207 Super 2000.

Meeke was 2.1s faster than Intercontinental Rally Challenge title leader and factory Škoda driver Juho Hänninen with Giandomenico Basso third quickest on the rain-hit stage in his works Abarth Grande Punto.

Paolo Andreucci was fourth fastest with Jan Kopecký, currently second in the IRC drivers’ standings, a distant seventh after admitting to being too cautious on the stage.

Umberto Scandola completed the stage with his M-Sport Ford Fiesta’s brake pads on fire but still managed the 10th fastest time.

Overall positions after SS1:
1 Kris Meeke 8m36.6s
2 Juho Hänninen +2.1s
3 Giandomenico Basso +2.8s
4 Paolo Andreucci +4.3s
5 Bryan Bouffier +6.9s
6 Luca Rossetti +8.0s
7 Jan Kopecký+9.3s
8 Guy Wilks +10.1s