Geraldine’s Hayden Paddon clocked the fifth fastest time in the shakedown for the last event in the World Rally Championship, in Wales.
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Driving a Volkswagen Polo R, Ogier headed Kris Meeke by 13.5sec with team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen a further 17.9sec behind.
Torrential rain welcomed the competitors as they headed in to the depths of mid-Wales.
Another Volkswagen driver, Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland, who is second in the World Championship standings, pushed close in the first stage but was forced to retire during the second. The Finn was second behind Ogier in the opening test, but ditched his Polo R early in the next stage and retired.
Mads Østberg finished in fourth but suffered with a leak in the bodywork, the cockpit of the Citroen DS3 would be a mudbath as the outside made its way in.
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) and Ott Tanak (Ford) complete the top six. The Kiwi struggled throughout the day as hydraulic issues left him unable to use the paddle shift gear change or handbrake.
Lorenzo Bertelli is up to ninth ahead of Stephane Lefebvre following a spin for Citroen’s young driver.
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Saturday’s nine-stage leg is set to be a challenging one: it begins just before 7.30am local time and concludes with two after-dark stages, and extreme rainfall is forecast for the area.
