Gronholm trails Loeb by 31 points in the overall driver standings

The Finn ended the day 35.5 seconds ahead of third placed Sebastien Loeb, who is aiming to equal Carlos Sainz's record of 26 world rally career wins.

Loeb, who won the first stage in Athens on Thursday, was hampered by the dusty stages as he was the first man out.

Norway's Petter Solberg is in second, 26.3 seconds behind Gronholm.

Loeb, who has won the last five rallies and leads Gronholm by 31 points in the overall standings, admitted he struggled to cope with the Finn's pace.

"I can't do anything else. I am pushing hard and I think that I'm driving fast," he said. "Entering the stages first is not helpful."

Gronholm is aiming for his first Acropolis victory and is hoping for more luck than last time in Sardinia when he had to retire after hitting a rock.

"That's not a bad performance. The only problem was the stones that caused vibrations to the power steering," he said. "Otherwise, we had no problem. The car is perfect.

"I have to concentrate on keeping this position until Sunday.

"I had the same advantage on Friday evening in Sardinia and then Saturday night I was sitting at home watching Eurovision on the television - that shows you how quickly things change."

Ford's Mikko Hirvonen is in fourth with Skoda's Francois Duval just behind.

Toni Gardemeister, driving a Citroen, will have to wait until Saturday to see whether he can continue the rally after injuring his shoulder.

The Finn dropped two places from sixth to eighth late in the day when he hit a rock.

Positions at the Acropolis Rally, Greece after leg one:

1 Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Ford 1hr, 19mins 45.7secs
2 Petter Solberg (Nor) Subaru 1:20.12
3 Sebastien Loeb (Fr) Citroen 1:20.21
4 Mikko Hirvonen (Fin) Ford 1:21.01
5 Francois Duval (Bel) Skoda 1:21.15
6 Manfred Stohl (Aut) Peugeot 1:21.23
7 Henning Solberg (Nor) Peugeot 1:21.25
8 Toni Gardemeister (Fin) Citroen 1:21.27
9 Dani Sordo (Sp) Citroen 1:21.33
10 Jussi Valimaki (Fin) Mitsubishi 1:21.36