Former world rally champion Colin McRae has a slender ninesecond lead after the opening leg of the Rally Australia in Perth yesterday.
"So far so good," said the Scot, who is being trailed by fellow Briton Richard Burns in a Mitsubishi. But McRae got a shock in the ninth stage when his Subaru began to rattle and vibrate after a heavy landing.
"It turned out that we'd bent the roll bar at the front end but the technicians changed it at the service and it did not cause us any other problems," explained McRae.
Finland's Tommi Makinen, trying to retain the world championship title he won last year, finished the day in sixth place, one minute 41 seconds behind McRae.
Carlos Sainz, regarded as probably the world's best all-round rally driver and still chasing a win in the Australian round after six starts, finished the day in fourth place, 51 seconds in arrears.
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