Fifteen of those are competing under SupeRally rules after retiring in yesterday's treacherous conditions. All face two identical loops of three gravel speed tests in the forests of south Wales followed by a short special stage inside Cardiff's Millennium Stadium - a total of 129.21km.

Clear skies and sunshine greeted competitors at the start of the opening Resolfen test near Swansea. While conditions were much improved on yesterday, there was still plenty of ice to catch out drivers in the 30.68km stage and the following 18.57km Halfway and 14.86km Crychan tests further north.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila restarted with a 12.9sec lead in their Focus RS World Rally Car. The Finns were sixth through Resolfen as their advantage was cut to just 0.8sec, before posting fastest time in Halfway. They ended their morning with fourth in Crychan to return to the Swansea service park with a lead of 8.9sec.

"I had no chance in the conditions on the first stage because the road was very frosty," said 23-year-old Latvala. "The road was rock hard and every time I hit the throttle the wheels were spinning, so I eased off. The next two tests were similar but not as bad. Before bends I steered the car towards the side of the road to brake in the gravel where there was more grip. I'm being pressured by those behind but I want to try to build a 30sec lead tonight. I really want to win here for the team."

Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen continued their recovery from yesterday afternoon's roll. Having restarted in 29th in their Focus RS WRC, Hirvonen was second through Resolfen. Third in Halfway and second in Crychan promoted the Finn to 13th. "I'm trying to climb as high as I can but the aim is also to stay on the road so I'm not taking risks. There was a lot of ice in Resolfen and it was hard to find a good rhythm. I had a couple of close escapes. The cars ahead of me are polishing the ice and it's hard to tell where there is grip and where there isn't," explained Hirvonen.

Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr climbed from 21st to 18th in the team's third Focus RS WRC. "There's a lot of ice covered by mud and gravel so it's difficult to build confidence. I'm trying to find a balance between driving quickly and staying on the road," said Al Qassimi.

Leaderboard after stage 11 of 19