GUY Wilks overcame an early setback to climb to fourth place after the opening day of the Monte Carlo Rally.

The first leg of the all-asphalt event consisted of just four tricky stages, run through the Alpes Maritimes high above the famous Principality. Weather conditions were unexpectedly warm, with little of the snow and ice that is usually a characteristic of the Rally. However, there were still patches of snow and ice in places, which made the season-opener as tricky as ever.

Wilks, from Darlington, suffered from overheating brakes as he and co-driver Phil Pugh pushed the pace in their Suzuki Ignis as the rally got underway.

He was also hindered by his decision to opt for a softer compound tyre, but the switch to a harder set in the afternoon paid dividends and he ended the day within sight of the podium in the Junior World Rally Championship.

"The problem with the brakes affected my confidence a bit in the morning, but it was much better in the afternoon," the 23-year-old said.

"I must have been pushing quite hard because I could feel the tyres going off at the end of the stages but on the whole we have had a very good run today.

"The car is feeling good, we've had no mechanical setbacks and I'm sure we can be pushing hard again tomorrow.

"I'm not quite sure why we lost a bit of time on the final stage; maybe we were just over-driving. But there's still a long way to go so anything can happen."

Wilks' Suzuki team-mate P-G Andersson - the reigning JWRC champion - leads the standings.

Today's second leg of the rally takes in 128km over five stages and is the longest of the event. Weather conditions are expected to be reasonably warm and dry with the possibility of patches of snow and ice.

Reigning world rally champion Sebastien Loeb got off to a promising start on the opening leg of the rally.

The Citroen driver has a 32.7second advantage on team-mate Francois Duval at the top of the leaderboard after winning three of the day's four stages.