Nathan Quinn held a slender lead in the Alpine Rally after the opening two stages of the event on Friday evening.
Driving a Mazda RX2, Quinn overcame a spin on the first stage of the day and leads a field of hot shots.
The bushfire shortened day consisted of one forest stage and a test around a speedway track, with Quinn moving clear of reigning champion Ben Barker.
Ryan Smart, Jack Monkhouse and Carl Stewart all showed pace in the opening stage in their Datsuns, but it was a slow start for Brendan Reeves, who only managed 14th quickest after a spin in his brand new Datsun 1600.
The first stage was later cancelled after an accident.
The rally continues on Saturday, with the weather expected to take a turn for the worse with rain predicted.
Sunday's final day has already been cancelled because of bushfires in the area.
Tasmanian Lee Peterson pushes his Nissan Pulsar hard on SS1. Photo: Peter Whitten
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