Hopes of a home victory had taken a major hit not long after the ceremonial start at the Peninsula Hotel, with the two highest-seeded Guernsey drivers both facing incidents before the first run of the opening Castel stage was done.
Both Craig Robert, seeded second overall in reflection of last year’s outstanding result, and 2023 runner-up Paul Trebert gamely continued but were removed from contention by penalties.
But Guernsey navigator Will Rutherford brought the possibility of some home glory as he came through the four runs at Castel holding a slender overall lead alongside Jersey driver Ed Fossey.
The evening action at Prevote and St Saviour brought further turbulence, with Robert crashing out entirely and delays causing several stages to be cancelled.
Fossey and Rutherford lost critical time on the first completed St Saviour run and this allowed six-time champion Le Noa and new navigator Derek Le Bailly to reclaim the lead.
They finished the night 53sec. clear of the Jersey-Guernsey pairing, with fellow Caesarean competitors Dave Oliveira and Victor Nobrega a closer third.
Guernsey’s Nick Duquemin and Phil Ferbrache are the top home crew and fourth overall ahead of the rally continuing across Saturday.
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