Aussie Chris Atkinson was seventh fastest in shakedown for Wales Rally GB overnight, in an event likely to be held in cold and wet conditions.
Ford's Mikko Hirvonen was quickest, ahead of Atko's team-mate Petter Solberg, but the Norwegian's brother, Henning, suffered suspension failure on his Ford Focus.
"We were very lucky. It happened on the first straight. We were doing about 150kph when - bang - the damper just came through the bonnet. We immediately went off and finally came to a stop when the car touched a tree," Solberg told www.wrc.com.
"Luckily we only damaged the bumper when we hit it. We should be okay for the start tomorrow but this is the second time I’ve had this problem - it happened in New Zealand too. It only seems to happen to me!â€
The rally gets underway today.
Shakedown Times Wales Rally GB
1. Mikko Hirvonen BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 2mins 25.6secs M
2. Petter Solberg Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008 2mins 26.5secs M
3. Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 2mins 27.0secs M
4. Daniel Sordo Citroen Total WRT C4 WRC 2mins 27.2secs M
5. Jari-Matti Latvala BP Ford Abu Dhabi Focus RS WRC 08 2mins 28.1secs M
6. Francois Duval Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 2mins 29.0secs MT
7. Chris Atkinson Subaru WRT Impreza WRC 2008 2mins 29.2secs M
8. Matthew Wilson Stobart VK Ford Focus WRC 07 2mins 30.2secs MT
9. Per-Gunnar Andersson Suzuki WRT SX4 WRC 2mins 30.4secs M
10. Sebastien Ogier PH Sport-Citroen C4 WRC 2mins 30.6secs A8
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