Ford's Marcus Gronholm leads Subaru's Petter Solberg by 25.8 seconds after the first leg of the Wales Rally GB today.
The Finn won four of the day's six stages in south Wales to take a comfortable lead into Saturday despite a spirited late charge by the Norwegian, winner of the last four editions of the rally.
Austrian Manfred Stohl was in third place for the OMV Peugeot Norway team, 48.1 seconds off the lead.
Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, running second after the first three stages, retired before the start of the fourth when roll cage damage from an off-road excursion earlier in the day was discovered.
Heavy overnight rain made the tracks slippery and treacherous, with pools of water and early morning fog adding to the difficulties, but the Ford drivers quickly established their superiority.
Gronholm won the first three stages before Stohl took the fourth. The Finn then went quickest in the fifth with Solberg storming through to take the sixth with a time 8.6 seconds faster.
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb has clinched his third successive drivers' crown, this time with Kronos Racing Citroen, but remains absent after breaking his arm falling off a mountain bike in September.
Gronholm, himself a double world champion and runner-up this year, is chasing his seventh win of the season.
Leading overall positions after Special Stage 6:
1 Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Ford 1hr 14mins 51.900secs,
2 Petter Solberg (Nor) Subaru 1:15:17.700,
3 Manfred Stohl (Aut) Peugeot 1:15:40.000,
4 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin) Ford 1:16:46.300,
5 Dani Sordo (Spa) Citroen 1:17:02.900
6 Xavier Pons (Spa) Citroen 1:17:03.800
7 Chris Atkinson (Aus) Subaru 1:17:38.100
8 Mark Higgins (Gbr) Ford 1:17:44.600
9 Francois Duval (Bel) Skoda 1:17:45.000
10 Harri Rovanpera (Fin) Skoda 1:18:32.100
