SS7 and SS8 cancelled: Loeb leads Rally Ireland after day one

Event organisers stopped Friday’s opening day of Rally Ireland early because of flooded roads - a decision which means Sebastien Loeb will carry the 44sec rally lead he held after SS6 into Saturday’s competition.

The day’s last two stages - SS7 and SS8 - were both scheduled to be run in darkness, but after a day of persistent rain the amount of standing water on the road led organisers to cancel them both on safety grounds.

The amended itinerary meant teams remained in the Service Park after SS6 and carried out their end-of-day 45-minute service instead of the planned 30-minute interim halt.

From there crews drove their cars to the overnight Parc Ferme in Sligo ready for Saturday’s competition.

We’ll bring you team and driver quotes from the Service Park shortly.