It does rain in Spain

Spain’s FIA World Rally Championship qualifier is famed for its warm and dry weather but with the move to November for 2012, rain and colder temperatures have greeted crews contesting the mixed surface season-closer.

Colin McMaster’s image captures Mads Ostberg’s Adapta World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC negotiating a water splash 33 kilometres into the 44.02-kilometre Terra Alta stage.

Ostberg, who leads Ott Tanak by 2.7s, said at midday service in Salou: “We were on the harder tyre this morning so I was actually expecting to lose some time. I think the surface is getting worse for the cars behind us, but also we have been driving really well. We’re pushing to the maximum everywhere and I don’t see any places where we could have gone much faster. Okay, we had a spin on stage three where we lost 10 seconds, but apart from that, it has been really good.”

The wet conditions have made for treacherous conditions with several drivers hitting trouble this morning including Thierry Neuville, Petter Solberg and Dani Sordo.