After a day filled with drama, Citroën Total World Rally Team driver Sébastien Loeb leads Rally Ireland, the first World Rally Championship event to be hosted on the island.

Championship leader Marcus Grönholm crashed out in the fourth stage this morning, guaranteeing that the fight for the world title will go to the final round of the series in two weeks time.

Second position is held by Loeb’s team-mate Daniel Sordo, while Stobart Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala holds the final provisional podium position.

Rally Ireland, the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship, got underway last night in front of the spectacular backdrop of Northern Ireland’s Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast. The historic home of the Northern Ireland Assembly hosted the opening super special stage of the cross-border event and was won by Grönholm.

While Loeb leads, the Frenchman has not been without problems and tackling the first three stages of the day with broken rear suspension saw him briefly hold the lead and then lose it to team-mate Sordo.

However, after repairs he immediately regained the lead and despite struggling with confidence on the damp, wet and muddy roads, as well as overshooting a junction this afternoon, he takes the overnight lead by 11.2 seconds. Sordo is the only other contender to have set fastest times today and the Spaniard heads Latvala by one minute 17.2 seconds.

Marcus Grönholm’s Championship hopes took another dent this morning when he lost control of the car under braking and crashed heavily into a stone wall.

Both he and co-driver Timo Rautiainen were taken to hospital for precautionary checks, but both were soon released. The Finn’s accident now means that Loeb, if he wins, could head into the final round in Wales six points ahead in the Drivers’ Championship.

Behind Sordo, the battle for third position has been intense between Latvala and Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen, although both remain some distance adrift of the leading Citroëns. Disaster struck a number of other drivers too.

Of the leading crews, Chris Atkinson (Subaru) went off the road and lost more than 20 minutes, and team-mate Xavier Pons retired with engine damage after an accident. Stobart Ford driver Henning Solberg also retired after going off the road and hitting a tree this afternoon.

Rally Ireland - Results after Leg 1

1 Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC                  1 hr 33 min 15.9sec
2 Daniel Sordo/Marc Marti Citroën C4 WRC                         1 hr 33 min 27.1sec
3 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila Ford Focus RS WRC        1 hr 34 min 44.3sec
4 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen Ford Focus RS WRC        1 hr 35 min 09.1sec
5 Petter Solberg/Phil Mills Subaru Impreza WRC                  1 hr 35 min 35.1sec
6 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Subaru Impreza                                1 hr 37 min 29.5sec
7 Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor Citroën Xsara WRC                      1 hr 37 min 57.8sec
8 Matthew Wilson/Michael Orr Ford Focus RS WRC             1 hr 40 min 01.3sec