Ott Tänak was quickest in Shakedown for the 2016 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, topping the timesheets ahead of Kris Meeke.
Tanak in the DMACK World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC , was just under a second quicker than Meeke in second.
Meeke’s Citroën team-mate Craig Breen with tied with World Champion Sébastien Ogier in third place, both 1.1 seconds slower than Tänak.
The 3.32 kilometre Shakedown test at Clocaenog, threw up no major dramas as all of the top runners got through the damp, muddy stage unscathed.
Tanak outpaced the official M-Sport drivers once again, and was fastest in each of the three runs.
The official M-Sport drivers, Mads Østberg and Eric Camilli struggled and were amongst the slowest of the WRC runners in thirteenth and fourteenth places respectively.
Ogier’s Volkswagen team-mates Andreas Mikkelsen and Jari-Matti Latvala were sixth and eleventh respectively.
The quickest Hyundai was Hayden Paddon, with the New Zealander going fifth quickest and was the only driver to attempt the stage a fourth time, although he did not go quicker.
His team-mates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville were seventh and ninth quickest in Shakedown.
Credit: Hyundai Motorsport
Kevin Abbring in the new Hyundai i20 R5 was fastest of all of the WRC2 runners, quicker than Teemu Suninen’s Skoda Fabia R5 in second.
Abbring’s stage times were faster than the M-Sport Ford drivers and put himself into twelfth place overall.
Gus Greensmith, in his first drive in a R5 machine, went second quickest on his first run and was the quickest of all of the British competitors, in his only run.
MSA British Rally Championship competitors Scotsman David Bogie and Englishman Rhys Yates were twelfth and fifteenth fastest.
As a reward for clinching the 2016 Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy, Osian Pryce was rewarded with a drive in a Ford Fiesta R5 and set some impressive times, in which he finished Shakedown overall in thirteenth.
Credit: @World Photography/Citroën Racing
In WRC3 and Junior WRC, Slovenia’s Martin Koči was fastest from Vincent Dubert, with Belgian William Wagner rounding out the top three, all in Citroen DS3 R3Ts.
The seventy-second edition of Wales Rally GB starts with the opening stage Myherin 1 on Friday 28 October at 08:20am UK time, and finishes with the Power Stage in Brenig on Sunday 30 October.
The Checkered Flag will be bringing you extensive pre and post-event coverage, as well as all four days of the 2016 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB from the 27-30 October 2016.
