Mikkelsen quickest in Turkey Stage 1, mistake for Ogier

Andreas Mikkelsen has set the pace in Stage 1 of Rally Turkey while Sebastien Ogier and Hayden Paddon sit outside the top 10 after mistakes on the Marmaris streets.

Mikkelsen was the odd man out in choosing medium compound Michelin tyres as the rest opted for hards and the Hyundai driver completed the 2.00km stage in 2:03.9s.

Citroen’s Craig Breen was 2.5s slower in second position.

Third is the winner of the last two World Rally Championship events, Ott Tanak (Toyota Gazoo), and fourth is championship leader Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

Ogier is 7.5s off the pace in 14th after spinning his M-Sport Ford as a result of an awkward landing and running into barriers.

Paddon (Hyundai) is a further 2.1s back after a messy stage next to the Marmaris marina.

A pair of WRC2 runners in Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Lotos Ford) and class championship leader Jan Kopecky (Skoda) are fifth and sixth respectively.

Friday action begins this afternoon (AEST) with two identical loops of three stages totalling 144.84km.

Rally Turkey: After Special Stage 1 (Top 10)

Pos	Num	Driver	Nat	Team	Car		Time/Gap
1	4	Andreas Mikkelsen	NOR	Hyundai	i20 WRC		2:03.9
2	11	Craig Breen	IRL	Citroen	C3 WRC		+2.5
3	8	Ott Tanak	EST	Toyota Gazoo	Yaris WRC		+2.8
4	5	Thierry Neuville	BEL	Hyundai	i20 WRC		+3.1
5	36	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	POL	Lotos	Fiesta R5	WRC2	+3.1
6	32	Jan Kopecky	CZE	Skoda	Fabia R5	WRC2	+3.4
7	9	Esapekka Lappi	FIN	Toyota Gazoo	Yaris WRC		+3.5
8	10	Mads Ostberg	NOR	Citroen	C3 WRC		+3.9
9	7	Jari-Matti Latvala	FIN	Toyota Gazoo	Yaris WRC		+4.0
10	2	Elfyn Evans	GBR	M-Sport Ford	Fiesta WRC		+4.3