Gronholm made up time on stage four

Gronholm's fellow Peugeot driver Harri Rovanpera went fastest on the opening three special stages.

But Gronholm, who has won all three of the rallies he has finished this season, reeled in his Finnish countryman on the final stage of the day.

Norway's Petter Solberg was 10.3 seconds off the lead for Subaru in third and Peugeot's Gilles Panizzi 13.9 seconds adrift in fourth.

Richard Burns, who leads the championship by five points but has yet to win a rally since joining Peugeot last year, finished the day down in eighth.

The Englishman started first, acting as a sweep for the cars behind, and was also hit by a puncture on stage two.

"I have been losing about one second per kilometre," he said.

Scotsman Colin McRae started the day well with a fourth on stage one in his Citroen but had to settle for sixth after stage four.

Stifling heat and the punishing rocky ground caused a catalogue of problems for the 51 starters.

Hampshire's Justin Dale, making his first WRC start for Hyundai after agreeing a six-rally deal, was forced to retire on stage two with engine damage.

Saturday is the longest day of the Rally with eight special stages, including two runs through a 30 kilometre test between Foini and Koilinia.

The event finishes on the Promenade in Limassol on Sunday after a further four competitive sections.

Standings after day one
1 Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot One hour 28 minutes 49.8 seconds
2 Harri Rovanpera (Finland) Peugeot 6.8 seconds behind
3 Petter Solberg (Norway) Subaru 10.3
4 Gilles Panizzi (France) Peugeot 13.9
5 Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 40.4
6 Colin McRae (Britain) Citroen 55.7
7 Markko Martin (Estonia) Ford 1:22.3
8 Richard Burns (Britain) Peugeot 1:31.2
9 Carlos Sainz (Spain) Citroen 1:33.2
10 Freddy Loix (Belgium) Hyundai 2:05.0