Rally reactions: Rally Japan - Leg 1.

Petter Solberg [Subaru]:

"I'm very happy to be back fighting for stage wins again! To be honest the day has gone better than even I expected, we had a few punctures in the afternoon but apart from that it has been just perfect. I love driving and when the package works as well as it has done today then there's no better feeling. Of course there's a long way still to go but I feel positive after what we've achieved today and everyone in the team is hungry to succeed."

Sebastien Loeb [Citroen]:

"I effectively dropped time in the first loop. Happily, the longest stage was in a much better state [second time around]. You could drive normally and I really pushed hard in it second time through. It was difficult not only because it was so long but also because it was fast and very narrow.

"I am reasonably pleased with my day on the whole. I pushed hard, but without taking many risks and, so far, everything is running to the plan which is to finish on the podium on Sunday afternoon. I think I will keep to the same pace tomorrow, but we will still need to be quick because we still have a fight on our hands with Petter and Marcus."

Marcus Gronholm [Peugeot]:

"I've not had a brilliant feeling today, and we lost time on the penultimate stage when the tread came off a tyre towards the start of the stage. The car was all over the place and it was very difficult to control. I'm pleased to get to the end of today and I will do my best to push some more tomorrow, although the truth is that I am not feeling very confident."

Chris Atkinson [Subaru]:

"The day started out very well and to lead a round of the WRC was something special but the aim this weekend is to get experience and a solid result without taking too many risks. We had a bit of bad luck this afternoon being caught in the dust behind Antony Warmbold who had some problems in the long stage and then on the final stage we had to deal with some very foggy conditions on a road surface that I would say was one of the worst I have ever driven on. I think we could have chosen a slightly harder tyre compound for this afternoon's stages but overall it has been a very pleasing day and when you look at the fact that the only guys ahead of us are world champions we have to be happy. The aim now is to continue this pace for the remainder of the rally and gain a good result for the team."

Harri Rovanpera [Mitsubishi]:

"I am happy with today's performance, our only problem being with the brakes in stage seven. This morning the conditions were very slippy and although the long 50 kilometre stage was a lot cleaner this afternoon, all the others were very rutted. At the moment we are making good progress for Mitsubishi and I feel very happy with our position. Today's leg has been long and therefore made tire choices difficult; tomorrow I think will be much easier."

Gigi Galli [Mitsubishi]:

"Our day has gone to plan, but I must say it's a very tricky rally with incredibly high speeds on very narrow stages. In the long one I was lifting off the throttle because it was just too fast; I was in fear of the speed. The rally is harder than I expected, but I'm satisfied with our position. The second pass through the stages is always easier for me and to set a fastest time for the team, while we are in Japan, was very special for everyone."

Francois Duval [Citroen]:

"I picked up three punctures this morning; the two front tyres and the rear right. Running on the ATS mousse, I had less grip and found it more difficult to turn it to corners. I broke my windscreen myself with stones thrown up by my front bumper, and I had trouble seeing out of the right-hand side. Second time through, I was running on a hard compound tyre and, if I could choose again, I would go for a medium compound. It was also starting to get a bit dark in the trees so I just concentrated on keeping it clean before taking things even more cautiously in the penultimate test which was shrouded in fog. Tomorrow, my main objective will be to stay on the road. I haven't much experience with the Xsara in mud, so I hope the weather will stay dry as long as possible..."

Roman Kresta [Ford]:

"It was a hard morning. They were difficult stages and as this is my first time here I made a few changes to my pace notes. I made a couple of mistakes in the last test this morning and had to stop briefly, which cost some time.

"I'm pleased I improved this afternoon, especially as the conditions became worse, and some of my times were comparable with Rovanper? and Duval. But there was so much fog in the penultimate stage that it was better to switch off the lights to improve visibility. My start position for tomorrow is good, although I'm expecting another hard day."

Toni Gardemeister [Ford]:

"My pace notes were too fast for the long stage this morning so my speed was wrong on every corner I just couldn't trust them and I made a lot of changes. It was much better this afternoon but my tyres were too soft for the conditions. I needed hard tyres but I didn't have them in our tyre package so I chose the hardest that were available. I went off the road briefly in the fog this evening - it's an incredibly difficult rally for someone competing here for the first time."

Daniel Carlsson [Peugeot]:

"Today has been good, although I struggled in the fog of the penultimate stage: it was impossible to see. We made some small changes in the afternoon that worked, adjusting the differentials so that the turn-in was better. The car has been perfectly reliable all day and I look forward to trying to improve my position tomorrow."

Antony Warmbold [Ford]:

"I've lost time all afternoon. On the long stage I heard a noise from the front of the car and stopped to check it. I had no idea what it was so I continued and then pulled over to let Chris Atkinson pass. I have run out of luck today."

Armin Schwarz [Skoda]:

"It has been very difficult for me today. You need very precise pace notes here and there were times when mine were far too optimistic for my first visit to the rally. We had a lot of scary moments this morning."

Gilles Panizzi [Mitsubishi]:

"Today has not been easy for us and I don't have the feeling at all. We softened the car this afternoon which helped me but not enough to make a real difference to our times. My reflexes have come back very quickly, but I am fighting with the car too much; we will have to see what changes we can make to try and improve the set-up for me."

Notable retirements:

Mikko Hirvonen [Skoda]: [went off the road in SS7]

"I had to work very hard this morning but it was good that the times were so fast from the beginning, matching and beating even Sebastien Loeb at times. On the third stage I hit a rock that must have damaged the hydraulic oil cooler and we started to lose fluid. It stopped the automatic gearshift from working and affected the diffs so we spun a couple of times, losing about 30 seconds as a result but we were still well placed. On the second runs the stages were really rough. Near the end of the long stage I punctured the front left tyre and it was impossible to stay on the road at the next corner. The car hit a rock and rolled into the forest. It was my mistake."

Daniel Sola [Ford]: [stopped with tyre problems between SS8 and SS9]

"I had a slow puncture on the rear right 15km from the end [of SS7]. Then I punctured a front tyre as well. I changed the tyres around and we continued. Conditions in the next stage were dark and foggy. It was hard to see anyway but suddenly the light pod flew off the car and bounced off the windscreen. Then I could see nothing! I tried to reach the next stage but the mousse in the rear right tyre was vibrating and after about 40km the rubber peeled off the rim. I stopped and cut it from the differential because I knew I could do the final stage on three wheels. But further down the road the rear left tyre suddenly exploded and the rubber flew off. I had no choice but to retire."

Team Principals:

David Lapworth [Subaru World Rally Team - team principal]:

"An excellent start to the rally. Both drivers have driven faultlessly and are ideally placed. Obviously it's great to see Petter leading again in Japan but Chris's performance on the first couple of stages was equally satisfying. The cars have run well and the tyres have been good, we couldn't really have asked for a better start to the event. Tomorrow could be a tricky day, the forecast is for unpredictable weather but in this mood Petter should take it in his stride."

Jean-Pierre Nicolas [Peugeot Sport - team principal]:

"The glass is either half full or half empty depending on which way you look at it: Marcus ends the day 35 seconds off Solberg, despite a stack of tyre problems. Without them, he would have been able to fight for the lead with Loeb and Solberg. Daniel Carlsson, without the benefit of significant testing, is only seven-tenths of a second per kilometre off Marcus, which is good. On the penultimate stage, visibility was extremely bad due to fog and dust from previous cars."

Isao Torii [Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports - president]:

"Harri and Gigi have lots of red motivating fans here and they have done a very good job for us; as we expected. Harri has been constant and Gigi's fastest time was great for the whole team. Everyone has done a good job. Gilles is getting better and better and this morning was trying to get used to the car. I am happy with today's result and we will see what tomorrow brings."

Yasuo Tanaka [Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports - technical director]:

"Today was going to be a tough day for tyre choices, but everything has been okay for us. Our positions are good at the moment and tomorrow we will try to push harder again. I am very happy with the reliability and performance of the car, and hopefully Gilles - who has been out of the car competitively for some time - will gain more and more confidence stage by stage."

Malcolm Wilson [BP Ford - team director]:

[On having two drivers who haven't competed in Japan before] "We've paid the price for that. I can see the clear improvement in their times relative to the other drivers on the second pass through the stages."

Martin Muehlmeier [Skoda Motorsport - team boss]:

"It was a good start for Mikko this morning but ultimately a disappointing finish. Once again we saw the kind of performance we can get from the Fabia when the conditions are right. I had hoped that we could let Mikko restart tomorrow but the car is too badly damaged and so I'm afraid his rally is over."