Storms hit service park

The majority of teams had left the service park when the storms hit, meaning that there was no one to hang on to their awnings and equipment in the high winds.

The BP-Ford team were in the middle of their regular media 'happy hour' when the storms hit, meaning that they were able to call in plenty of help to hang on to everything.

Red Bull Skoda and championship leaders Kronos were two of the teams most affected by the storms, which are predicted to continue for at least the first two legs of the event.

The Skoda team confirmed that they had lost two service tents, and several teams including Kronos had lost their hospitality tents as well, and have had to borrow canopies and awnings from other teams.

The rain continued during Thursday's shakedown, where Petter Solberg was fastest from the Fords of Mikko Hirvonen and Marcus Gronholm, while returnee Colin McRae was fourth fastest for Kronos.