Sebastien Loeb is on course to win his seventh consecutive Rally of Germany after he won all six stages on the opening day.
The reigning world champion was expected to dominate on the tarmac roads and he did not disappoint to open a 19.9-second lead on his championship rival Mikko Hirvonen.
Hirvonen, who leads Loeb by a single point in the overall standings, was sitting in third for most of the day but was rewarded for his improving speed in the afternoon to move into second place ahead of Loeb's Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo.
The Finn had been expected to lose ground on Loeb on the asphalt surfaces in Germany, but he kept pace with the reigning champion through the afternoon stages to keep the Frenchman on his toes heading into the weekend.
"I think the Finns have learned to drive on tarmac," said Loeb.
"For sure Mikko is going very well and I've had to push very hard. This afternoon I've been on the limit all the time and it's been difficult to increase the gap.
"It was possible on the first loop, but on the second he was going well everywhere. But okay, 20 seconds is a good lead for a first day on tarmac, and for the moment it's going well.
"There are lots of tough new stages tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see what happens."
Enthused by his afternoon's work Hirvonen pledged a 'full attack' on Loeb's lead as he tries to maintain his championship advantage.
"I always knew the speed was there, because we set fastest stages here last year, but for some reason I couldn't find it in the morning," he said.
"Now it's here again and I hope I can keep it going tomorrow. It feels really good in the car and I'm enjoying myself. For tomorrow it's a simple plan - full attack."
Only three cars were able to complete the final stage of the day before it was called off due to safety concerns.
Loeb, Hirvonen and Chris Atkinson had completed the sixth stage before an FIA safety delegate made the decision to halt proceedings due to the number of spectators standing in dangerous places.
The non-running cars were therefore awarded a notional time of 5mins 27.3secs - the same as the second-fastest time of Hirvonen - for the stage.