Defending World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb built an ominous lead on the opening day of Rally Italy as he set about re-stamping his authority over his rivals.

The Frenchman endured a forgettable Jordan Rally last time out when a freak collision with a rival car on an access road forced his retirement.

The four-time world title winner, who was on course to claim his fourth rally victory in the fifth event of the season in Jordan, was unable to register any points and relinquished his lead of the driver's championships to BP Ford's Mikko Hirvonen.

That meant Hirvonen held a five-point lead over Loeb heading into this weekend's rally, however, on the evidence of the Frenchman's opening day showing it looks as though that gap will be bridged.

Loeb took control on the gravel roads of Sardinia in the morning session to hold a 22.5-second lead at the midday service, before extending that advantage to 35.7secs during the ensuing three tests.

Loeb's Citroen team-mate Daniel Sordo is his closest rival ahead of Subaru driver Petter Solberg in third. Hirvonen sits a place further back, 58.9secs behind Loeb.

The Finn was at a disadvantage in the morning session as he was left to lead off the field as driver's championship leader, effectively clearing the loose stones off the racing line for his rival competitors.

But the telling moments came in the afternoon session when, back amongst the field, Hirvonen was unable to eat into Loeb's lead.

The Finn recorded the exact same time as Loeb on the fourth test before losing further ground on the last two.

"I was really pushing hard, and from my position it was a good drive, but Loeb's coming faster and there's nothing I can do about it," Hirvonen said.

For his part Loeb was left to reflect on a near faultless day for his Citroen team, although he was not taking his position for granted following his freak accident in Jordan.

"It's been a good day for me, and with Dani in second it's been good for Citroen too," Loeb said.

"We were in a similar situation of course on the last round in Jordan, but hopefully we won't have a repeat of the problems we had there.

"The feeling in the car is good. Tomorrow I will be first on the road, and that could be tricky - but I had to push hard today to get as big a lead as possible.

"I couldn't wait until the second day to push. I'm satisfied with the lead I have; tomorrow we'll see if it's enough."

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