Driving a Porsche 911 RS, Hagstrom finished the first day’s seven stages with a lead of over a minute over last year’s winner, Deane Buist, driving a BDA-engined Toyota Corolla.
In third place is Mazda RX7 driver Richard Kelsey, while Bert Murray’s Group B Mazda is fourth.
The best placed Ford Escort is that of Christchurch’s Robert McCullum in fifth place, while Balclutha’s Duncan McCrostie is sixth.
The leading Australian driver is Michael Boaden (Ford Escort), after Darryn Snooks retired his Datsun Stanza on the fourth stage.
Michele Mouton’s hopes of a top placing were dealt a blow on the first stage when she punctured a front right hand tyre – a feat she repeated later in the day. She lies a disappointing 16th after the first day.
Hagstrom won five of the day’s seven stages, and as his crew progressively gave the Porsche more ground clearance and tried to reduce the weight of the car, he became happier with it. He was asking for more power by the end of the day.
Tomorrow sees a further sixth stages, including the longest of the event, the 51.2km Duns stage.
Top 10 after Day 1:
1.   Hagstrom/McKee, Porsche 911 RS, 1h12m46.9s
2.   Buist/Bracefield, Toyota Corolla RS1800, +1m04.3s
3.   Kelsey/Scott, Mazda RX7, +1m22.1s
4.   Murray/Jenkinson, Mazda RX7, +2m23.7s
5.   McCullum/Kennard, Ford Escort RS1800, +2m24.9s
6.   McCrostie/Marshall, Nissan Bluebird Turbo, +2m29.2s
7.   Ross/Ross, Ford Escort RSFJ, +3m15.2s
8.   Boaden/Cheers, Ford Escort, +3m38.3s
9.   Wylie/Turner, Nissan 240RS, +4m09.9s
10.   Ayson/Scott, Ford Escort, +4m30.4s
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