Dean’s plans for testing in his new Cusco Subaru WRX have been hampered this week by unseasonably wet weather. After flying to Noumea a few days early, Dean and new co-driver Chris Murphy had hoped to spend the week testing with the rest of the Cusco team ahead of this weekends Rally New Caledonia. But persistent rain during the past few weeks have left the roads extremely wet and slippery.

“Very, very wet when I arrived. We tested on Monday, and the test went well despite the weather. It’s not really testing when it’s like this. More like shakedown. But we needed to do it to start all the communication between me and team”.

“There was so much water on the road that one section was completely covered by water for 30 odd meters! We also had another test on Tuesday, again difficult with the water on road from previous days, but at least sun was shining and some sections were dry. We managed to get in some more testing with the new tyres, so it was worth the effort”.

“The next two days are recce, so will be interesting to see the stages for the first time”.

More rain is expected for Saturdays stages, with the weather clearing on Sunday. Stay tuned to www.deanherridge.com for more information and results as they come to hand.

Photos courtesy of www.cusco.co.jp