McRae takes early lead

Colin McRae's world championship dream showed signs of becoming reality yesterday, but the Scot was far from happy despite finishing the first day of the final rally of the season 15 seconds clear.

McRae needs to win the RAC Rally and title-holder Tommi Makinen of Finland must finish outside of the first six if he is to regain the crown he captured two years ago.

The first part of that equation was working out perfectly as McRae seized command of the season's finale. He could afford to be optimistic that Makinen would fail to collect the one point he needs to clinch a second successive championship, because the flu-ridden Finn struggled for the opening leg.

But McRae derived little joy from the day and is looking forward to the more arduous terrain of the second and third legs in Wales.

"I haven't enjoyed today," admitted the 29-year-old Lanark-born driver. "The stages have been very fast, but a lot of them are also very narrow and I'm thinking of everyone's safety.

Makinen, after a promising start, dropped off the pace and was only ninth before the two Donington sections. But he then achieved his best stage results of the day so far to work his way back up to sixth - the lowest place in which he can finish to be sure of retaining the title.

The Mitsubishi driver claimed he was unsuited by the pathfinder's role he was given by virtue of his position as championship leader. "It's difficult being the first car when the roads are so slippery," said Makinen.

McRae conceded the lead only for stages three, four and five when headed by Makinen's compatriot Juha Kankkunen in a Ford Escort.

Kankkunen, three times a winner of the event, had been looking dangerous, but McRae's performance in the day's later stages suggested he had taken the Finn's measure.

Carlos Sainz, Kankkunen's Spanish team-mate, was 19 seconds behind McRae in third, just ahead of Richard Burns in the second Mitsubishi. Burns was proving far more competitive overall than his colleague Makinen, but was expected to comply with team orders and move aside if necessary.