Ford World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila ended a remarkably savage opening day of Rally de Espaa in third.  Heavy rain transformed the dry gravel roads into a muddy mess, and after a careful morning the Finns excelled in treacherously slippery conditions in the  afternoon to climb the leaderboard in their Fiesta RS World Rally Car.It was so difficult that 11 of the top 20 starters retired from the action.  The casualties included Fords Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson, who were one of several crews to retire after hitting a rock.  However, the privately-entered Fiesta RS WRC of Mads stberg and Jonas Andersson avoided the carnage to lead this final round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 27.2sec.    Traditionally a pure asphalt event, the rally has evolved in recent years to include a mostly gravel opening leg west of the Salou base.  After last nights start ceremony in Barcelona, drivers tackled five speed tests that were punctuated with a few short asphalt sections.  The day ended with a mixed surface special stage along Salou seafront, making a total of 150.22km.Dry weather was forecast for most of the day and Latvala last night opted for a low start position to take advantage of roads swept clean of loose gravel.  However early morning rain threw everyones calculations into disarray as vast quantities of rain drenched the hillsides.Having opted for hard compound Michelin tyres on the front of his Fiesta RS WRC and soft rubber on the rear, Latvala was fastest through the opening stage.  But as conditions deteriorated, his start position proved a disadvantage as the roads became increasingly muddier and standing water posed a threat of aquaplaning.  Latvala adopted a cautious strategy through the next two stages and despite a spin at a muddy hairpin near the finish of the second stage, the 27-year-old Finn returned to service in fifth, 55.1sec from the lead.  The rain removed the slippery loose gravel, but it was replaced with standing water instead, he said. In the last test there was a 12 minute gap between the start times of the car ahead and myself.  It was raining so hard that the ruts had filled with water again when I started and it was so slippery.  I couldnt drive any faster in those conditions.  If the rain had stopped, as we all expected, my tyre choice would have been ideal, but in the heavy rain, soft tyres all round would have been the right choice, he added.Although the rain eased this afternoon, conditions in the two repeated stages were even more slippery as the first pass over the roads had generated even more mud.  However, with soft tyres now fitted, Latvala was second fastest in both stages to return to Salou 47.0sec from the lead.That was one of the most difficult days of the year.  I changed my driving style all the time because the conditions and grip levels changed so frequently, and the muddy clay surface was like ice.  I had many close escapes, but I finished the day and not many people managed that.  The weather is likely to be unsettled again tomorrow, so it wont get any easier on the asphalt, said Latvala.      Solberg was fourth in the opening test, but the 37-year-old Norwegian was one of several drivers to retire after hitting a rock in a deep rut that was obscured by water.  The impact damaged his cars front left suspension and he retired from the action.  He will restart tomorrow under Rally 2 regulations with 25min penalties.I feel so bad, admitted Solberg.  Conditions were treacherous but up to the point where we had the impact, the stage was going perfectly.  I was driving well within myself and setting good split times when we came around a fourth-gear left corner about 20km after the start.  We were dragged into a big rut that was full of water and an exposed rock was hidden in the rut.  We immediately saw it would be impossible to fix the damage. Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson praised Latvalas afternoon recovery.  He fought back extremely well to climb into the battle at the top and with two days remaining there should be plenty of excitement to come.  When he saw so many people off the road this morning, he decided to be cautious and focus on finishing the day, and that proved the right decision, he said.News from other Ford teamsAdapta World Rally Teams Mads stberg and Jonas Andersson took the lead after stage three, despite losing 10sec with a spin, and mastered the conditions to build a solid advantage.  M-Sport Ford World Rally Teams Ott Tnak and Kuldar Sikk led after the previous stage, despite mishearing a pace note in the opening test and going straight on at a junction.  They remained second until the penultimate stage when another spin and overheating brakes cost 45sec and they fell to fifth.  Team-mates and WRC debutants John Powell and Michael Fenell were forced out midway through the leg when Powell fell ill.  Evgeny Novikov and Ilka Minor retired from sixth after sliding into a ditch in the penultimate stage, Novikov having earlier won DMACK Tyres first WRC stage.  Martin Prokop and Zdenĕk Hrůza went off the road at the end of stage two and ripped off a wheel, while Brazil World Rally Teams Daniel Oliveira and Carlos Magalhaes crashed in the following stage.  Saturday's RouteThe final two legs are pure asphalt and tomorrows action takes place north-west of Salou.  After restarting at 07.00, drivers face two identical loops of three stages covering 161.30km.  The second test of each loop is the massive 45.97km El Priorat, one of the longest stages of the season.  Competitors return to Salou for the final overnight halt at 18.57.Leaderboard after Day 11.  M stberg/J Andersson               NOR             Ford Fiesta RS  1hr 41min 32.4sec2.  S Loeb/D Elena                      FRA             Citroen DS3             1hr 41min 59.6sec3.  J-M Latvala/M Anttila               FIN             Ford Fiesta RS  1hr 42min 19.4sec 4.  M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen               FIN             Citroen DS3             1hr 42min 35.0sec5.  O Tnak/K Sikk                      EST             Ford Fiesta RS  1hr 42min 43.2sec6.  C Breen/P Nagle                     IRL             Ford Fiesta S2000       1hr 47min 33.3sec 7.  H Weijs/B Degant                    NLD             Citroen DS3             1hr 47min 40.9sec8.  J Nikara/J Kalliolepo               FIN             Mini John Cooper        1hr 49min 52.4sec9.  P-G Andersson/E Axelsson    SWE             Proton Satria Neo       1hr 51min 14.8sec10 E Novikov/I Minor                    RUS             Ford Fiesta RS  1hr 52min 31.9secStage TimesStage 1: 1. Latvala 4min 40.5sec; 2. Loeb + 0.5; 3. Hirvonen + 1.7; 4. P Solberg + 3.5; 5= Neuville, Tnak + 4.8. Stage 2: 1= stberg, Tnak 15min 54.5sec; 3. Hirvonen + 17.5; 4. Loeb + 25.5; 5. Sordo + 26.7; 6. Prokop + 30.9; 8. Latvala + 33.6.Overall: 1. Tnak 20min 39.8sec; 2. stberg + 0.1; 3. Hirvonen + 14.4; 4. Loeb + 21.2; 5. Latvala + 28.8; 6. Sordo + 31.1.Stage 3: 1. Loeb 30min 37.3sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.4; 3. stberg + 1.6; 4. Tnak + 4.4; 5. Novikov + 23.7; 6. Latvala + 28.0.Overall: 1. stberg 51min 18.8sec; 2. Tnak + 2.7; 3. Hirvonen + 13.1; 4. Loeb + 19.5; 5. Latvala + 55.1; 6. Nikara + 1:09.4.Stage 4: 1. Novikov 16min 03.9sec; 2. Latvala + 1.1; 3. stberg + 1.6; 4. Loeb + 17.6; 5. Hirvonen + 19.1; 6. Tanak + 25.5.Overall: 1. stberg 1hr 07min 24.3sec; 2. Tnak + 26.6; 3. Hirvonen + 30.6; 4. Loeb + 35.5; 5. Latvala + 54.6; 6. Nikara + 1:12.9.Stage 5: 1. Loeb 31min 19.0sec; 2. Latvala + 5.1; 3. stberg + 10.4; 4. Hirvonen + 45.4; 5. Ogier + 45.9; 6. Tnak + 57.3.Overall: 1. stberg 1hr 38min 53.7sec; 2. Loeb + 25.1; 3. Latvala + 49.3; 4. Hirvonen + 1:05.6; 5. Tanak + 1:13.5; 6. Ogier + 4:58.6.Stage 6: 1. Hirvonen 2min 35.7sec; 2. Tnak + 0.3; 3. Latvala + 0.7; 4. stberg + 3.0; 5. Weijs + 4.2; 6. Nikara + 4.8.Overall: 1. stberg 1hr 41min 32.4sec; 2. Loeb + 27.2; 3. Latvala + 47.0; 4. Hirvonen + 1:02.6; 5. Tanak + 1:10.8; 6. Breen + 6:00.9.