RIUDECANYES, Spain (AP) World champion Sebastien Ogier led the Rally of Spain after the first three stages on Friday.
Ogier, who recently secured the world title, steered his Volkswagen Polo to wins in all three of the night-time asphalt stages in a total of 34 minutes, 39 seconds.
He said: "We had a good drive. The car gave me a good feeling and helped me to keep the maximum speed through the corners."
Jari-Matti Latvala finished in second at 8.8 seconds with hometown favorite Dani Sordo next, 12.6 seconds behind.
Sordo said he internationally lost time to finish behind Latvala. Sordo suggested that drivers may try to position themselves down the standings so as to avoid starting Sunday's gravel stages first, instead letting the leaders clean the path to be followed.