Heavy landings for Jardine and McKenzie.

The only all British team to have entered this year's competition, featuring the ITV pairing of F1 Analyst Tony Jardine and Speed Sunday presenter Lee McKenzie, successfully completed the opening stages on the gruelling Wales Rally GB.

The Sportinglife.com MG X-Power outfit, despite being up against both adverse weather conditions and technical difficulties, nursed the car through rough terrain, as the toughest event in motorsport claimed big name competitors such as rally veteran Jimmy McRae, father of Colin McRae.

"The stages are certainly the toughest I have ever encountered, both physically and mentally," said co-driver Lee McKenzie. "A number of other cars have already gone out which just shows how demanding it really is. It is a fantastic event for me to compete in especially as this is only the fourth rally I have ever entered - I just hope we can keep going."

Jardine and McKenzie, having experienced throttle problems on the Super Special, held in Cardiff on Thursday evening, relied on a strong team effort to get them back on track for the first of the challenging stages in the rain Friday morning.

"It has been an action packed event for the team so far, with just a few set backs along the way," said Jardine. "The windscreen was steaming up on us this morning which meant visibility was poor, and having taken a heavy landing in the forest we had to limp back to service!"

In second service the MG ZR received the attention it vitally needed. The crew had to pull out all the stops and replace the front struts and straighten the rear suspension before the team headed for the heavy fog of Rheola and the last few stages of the arduous day.