Eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb showed his class on the first day of the Rally New Zealand to hold a four-second lead over teammate Miko Hirvonen after leg one.
Fastest qualifier Jari-Matti Latvala won the day's opening stage but fellow Finn Hirvonen seized the initiative to lead the field after the penultimate stage this afternoon.
But Loeb was always right on the tail of his Citroen teammate and won the day's last stage to turn a 4.6-second deficit into a 4.0-second advantage.
Loeb, the defending champion and current World Rally Championship series leader, claimed five stage victories on the roads around Huntly and Raglan, with a bold tactical decision paying dividends.
Loeb and Hirvonen both benefited by electing to start at the front of the field throughout the day's racing, hoping the predicted rain would arrive and bring with it muddy roads and perilous driving conditions for the last cars out.