Having only seen the stages at the regulation 60kph recce speed, Guy’s first attempt at SS3 at rally speed saw him record a 134kph average.

Such was the Škoda UK Motorsport increased pace that he was 28.3 seconds faster on his third run over the 11.8 mile (19 km) Campo Magro stage, than he had been the first time in his Fabia S2000.

Co-driven by Phil Pugh, his reward was to complete Leg 1 in second position, just 32.7 seconds behind last year’s event winner Kris Meeke.

Overnight rain had made the gravel stages west of Curitiba were extremely slippery, yet Guy drove faultlessly reach the final service at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba having set four second and three third fastest stage times.

The only minor problem came on SS3, when the spare intercom cable came loose after a heavy landing, and Guy had to almost stop to put it back and prevent it distracting him furthe

The forecast of an 80% chance of rain for the afternoon loop was inaccurate, and Guy lost a little time on the softer tyre option, especially on the seventh and final test when tyre wear saw the Fabia S2000 move around a little too much.

It had nevertheless been a fantastic day, as Guy maintained second place throughout.

Three Škoda Fabia S2000 drivers filled the top four places, with Jan Kopecký a further 27.4 seconds behind Guy and Juho Hänninen recovering to fourth after losing time with a puncture on SS1.

Guy said: “I’m quite pleased with the way the day has done, especially as it’s my first time rallying in Brazil. The opening stage was very greasy and Kris Meeke got a little bit of a jump on us, but we haven’t had a moment and still been very much on the pace.

“It’s the fastest rally I’ve done since Rally Finland in 2007, and that took a little getting used to again as we did the recce at 60kph and on some stages were are averaging over 130kph.

“We had to stop on SS3 when the spare intercom cable came loose and it bounced right in my face like Zebedee [from the Magic Roundabout].

"Phil tried to tie it back up whilst reading the notes, but let go when he had to turn the page! We virtually came to a stop on a slow corner so we could hook it back up, so I reckon that cost us almost five seconds.

“We were expecting rain in the afternoon, but we actually had dust in the car. We’d taken the softer tyre option and the car was moving too much, but it wasn’t a major problem.

“I’m happy that we’ve been able to increase our speed throughout the day, maintain a strong second position without a single moment and finish our first day’s rallying in Brazil in a challenging position. It’s all to play for.”

Saturday's final contains five gravel stages (two of which are repeated) to the north east of Curitiba, beginning with the 17.4 mile (28 kms) Baocaiuva test, which is the longest stage of the rally.

The stages are generally a little narrower with varying surface, but still fast and similar in character to Rally Finland.

The climax to the event is the spectacular 2 mile (3.38 km) Super Prime Pinhais stage, which takes place on a purpose-built arena near Curitiba.

End of Leg 1 (top six after SS7)
1. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)… 49:17.2
2. Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Škoda Fabia S2000)…+32.7
3. Jan Kopecký/Petr Starý (Škoda Fabia S2000)…+1:00.1
4. Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula (Škoda Fabia S2000)…+1:42.7
5. Daniel Rolim Oliveira/Denis Giraudet (Peugeot 207 S2000)…+3:37.3
6. Eduardo Peredo/Claudio Bustos (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)…+7:19.5