SuggestedLeadIn: Newly re-crowned champion Sebastien Ogier and veteran Robert Kubica set the standard at the Tour de Corse on Friday (2 October), although the second stage was cancelled after heavy rains fell on Corsica overnight.

Script: The opening day of the Tour de Corse, and it was a bad start for Thierry Neuville.

Just 1.2 kilometres into the first stage, the Belgian's Hyundai collided with a narrow bridge, damaging his rear suspension and forcing him to retire for the rest of the day.

In contrast, recently re-crowned world champion Sebastien Ogier breezed through the first stage, setting the fastest time.

Ogier's team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala took a more cautious approach during the opening stage, eventually dropping six seconds behind the champion.

Absent from the last rally in Australia, Poland's Robert Kubica set the fastest time in yesterday's shakedown, and that form continued over the challenging uphill course.

He used his experience to his advantage, equalling Ogier's fastest stage time

Up to 200 milimetres of rain caused floods in the Bastia area of Corsica, subsequently forcing organisers to cancel the second stage.

There were also landslides over a six-kilometre section of the Casamozza - Ponte Leccia stage, meaning that it was impossible to drive the roads competitively.