[7] The first round of the J-WRC championship was taken by Tom Kristensson and Henrik Appelskog crew in their maiden appearances.

Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul were second, with Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson in third in each standings, another slender three points behind.

Being first on the road meant Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have to endure changeable conditions and unpredictable grip.

The six-time World Champions went off the road on Svullrya and stuck in the snowbank, which forced them to retire from the first leg.

The other major victim was Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila crew, who went wide over a crest on the final stage of Friday and cost them nearly twenty-four minutes to get unstuck.

[16][17] The second leg of the rally appeared to be a total disaster for Teemu Suninen and Marko Salminen.

[18] Worse still, at the afternoon loop, they hit a tree and damaged their roll cage, which forced them to retire from the day.

Their team, defending manufacturers' champions Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT also led the championship by one point.

Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm crew managed to keep themselves ahead of Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul with just a three seconds of advantage.