Subaru Rally Team Australia driver Dean Herridge is off to a storming start in Telstra Rally Australia, heading the field of Group N production class cars after the first stage in Perth tonight.

Before a crowd of more than 10,000 at the new Gloucester Park Perth City Super Stage, Herridge pipped the Mitsubishi of Juha Kangas by just .1 of a second, to take the two kilometre stage in a time of 1 minute 39.8 seconds.

SRTA team-mate Cody Crocker took a conservative path on the debut stage for his left-hand drive 2003 model Impreza WRX STi, finishing in 1:42.1 as he went head-to-head with the Mitsubishi of Ed Ordynski, who takes a 1.4 second advantage over his arch rival into tomorrow's second stage in the forests south of Perth.

Herridge said: "We had a really clean, neat run and my heartbeat's now back down ready for the real action tomorrow."

Crocker commented: "You can't win much on these short city stages, but you can lose a heck of a lot if you make a mistake, so we're glad to move onto the forests in the morning."

Action resumes at 8.19am Perth time with the first of nine stages to complete leg one.

To follow all the live Group N action, see rally.subaru.rally.com.au