Driving a GR Yaris Rally1 on what is currently a one-off outing for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Swedish youngster Solberg stunned the field by romping to three fastest times on lightning-fast gravel roads in southern Estonia and led for the first full day’s entirety.

The 23-year-old, who is co-driven by Britain’s Elliott Edmondson, collected his first WRC stage win on the first test through Peipsiääre before backing it up on the repeated pass to reach the mid-leg service halt 8.5s clear of 2019 WRC champion Ott Tänak.

Set-up changes between loops helped Solberg unlock more traction in the afternoon, allowing him to extend his margin over home hero Tänak, who had earlier taken two stage wins of his own.

“To be leading the rally and to have won a few stages, and to have this amazing feeling in the car, you know - this day has been all about fun,” Solberg said. “I don't know what to say - It's just been the best day of my life.”

Tänak, victorious last time out in Greece, was roared on by thousands of fans but couldn’t quite find the flow needed to trouble Solberg’s pace.

“It's just so loose and [there's] no grip whatsoever," he said. "I did everything I could, it is as it is at the moment."

Thierry Neuville holds third place, just 1.8s behind Hyundai team-mate Tänak. The Belgian led after Thursday night’s super special but admitted he was still “fighting” with his Hyundai i20 N Rally1’s balance and grip throughout the day.

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, a three-time winner in Estonia, is 5.9s back from Neuville in fourth. “It’s pretty much the maximum we can do with this car and the current feeling,” the Finn reflected.

Adrien Fourmaux endured a muted morning on his first high-speed gravel rally in Hyundai colours, but bounced back to win Kambja 2 after set-up tweaks improved his car’s stability. He ended the leg fifth overall, two-tenths of a second ahead of Takamoto Katsuta, who lost time in the morning with an overshoot and intercom issues.

Elfyn Evans, first on the road as championship leader, struggled for traction and languishes in eighth – ahead of Toyota colleague Sami Pajari, whose morning was hampered by intermittent power loss.

Mārtiņš Sesks and Josh McErlean round out the top 10 in M-Sport Ford Pumas, split by 18.6s. Grégoire Munster is 11th after a difficult day that included brake issues, a tyre deflation and an overshoot.

Local star Robert Virves heads FIA WRC2 with 19-year-old Pole Tymek Abramowski announcing his step up to the world stage from the FIA European Rally Championship in style by leading FIA WRC3.

Saturday is the rally’s longest leg with more than 125 kilometres of competitive distance across nine stages, including two blasts through the high-speed Kanepi and Raanitsa tests. The action begins with the 21.45-kilometre Raanitsa test from 08:23 local time.