The early pace was set by reigning two-time Targa Tasmania champions, Eddie Maguire and Zak Brakey, who took the opening South Retreat stage by 2.6 seconds over series contenders Taylor Gill and Kim Bessell.
The following two stages were won by Gill's Subaru, and it was the Canberra class winner who took a convincing lead into service after the first loop of stages.
Gill's 45 second lead was attributed to Maguire's misfortune, with the Tasmanian suffering a broken rear drive shaft in SS3. Luckily for him, the team were able to repair his car back to 100% for the afternoon's stages.
On the second pass of the day's stages, his Lancer Evo 9 again set the pace ahead of Gill, but it was not enough to pull back the time that he'd lost to the teenager on the previous two stages before service.
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