Thierry Neuville established himself in the lead with a time of 2m42.0s after his respective run and that remained the benchmark until Ogier capped off the major entries with a 2m41.1s.Neuille’s teammate Dani Sordo brought a second Hyundai into the top three, 0.3s down on the Belgian.
VW duo Andreas Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala took fourth and fifth respectively, followed by the returning Citroen of Kris Meeke.
Rally Argentina winner Hayden Paddon was seventh, 2.6s off the pace, as the top Fords of Ott Tanak and Mads Ostberg completed the top 10 along with Stephane Lefebvre.
Standings after SS1
Pos. Driver Team Gap
1 Sebastien Ogier Volkswagen 2m41.1s
2 Thierry Neuville Hyundai +0.9s
3 Dani Sordo Hyundai +1.2s
4 Andreas Mikkelsen Volkswagen +1.7s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala Volkswagen +1.9s
6 Kris Meeke Citroen +2.1s
7 Hayden Paddon Hyundai +2.6s
8 Ott Tanak Ford +3.3s
9 Mads Ostberg Ford +3.4s
10 Stephane Lefebvre Citroen +3.6s