Colin McRae began repaying the £6 million faith in his talent by making a flying start to his Ford career in the Monte Carlo Rally yesterday.

The Scotsman clocked his maiden fastest time on the fourth special stage to finish the rally's first day of serious competition in sixth place overall.

McRae's display was better than Ford's executives could have dared to hope for from the initial outing.

"The great thing is that the cars are competitive and that means everything to me on our first event," said Ford's team director Malcolm Wilson.