McRae hits back with dominant win

COLIN McRae's dismal start to this year's world rally championship has finally come to an end with victory in the Rally of Argentina.

McRae and co-driver Nicky Grist dominated the fifth round of the season in their Ford Focus, leading from the outset and controlling the event from the front.

"I've never been so relieved in my life," McRae said.

"It's been a marvellous rally for me and the Ford team, and the car ran perfectly throughout."The British pair posted 10 fastest times from the 21 special stages to finish 26.9 seconds ahead of Richard Burns in a Subaru.

Burns kept the pressure on McRae right up to the finish but could not make a significant impression and had to settle for second overall.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz helped Ford edge closer to Mitsubishi in the manufacturers championship with third place, well clear of Tommi Makinen in fourth.

McRae had failed to score any points in the previous four rounds this year, with three retirements due to mechanical failures and a crash in Sweden that stopped him finishing higher than ninth.

History was against the Brit for a return to the podium in this year's Argentina rally, as he bowed out of the event last year and in 1999.

But McRae and Grist set up the win by pacing themselves throughout the four-day event and completed the rally in style by setting the fastest time on the final two stages, which are regarded as two of the toughest tests in the entire 14-round championship.

"Richard (Burns) was pushing hard all the time and we couldn't relax, but that makes the win more worthwhile," McRae said.

"I would have liked to have driven a little easier over the final two stages, which were rough, but I couldn't with Richard so close."Burns won this event last year and did all he could at the wheel of his Impreza, clocking seven fastest stage times as he chased McRae all the way.

"It's disappointing not to have won here but I did everything I could," Burns said.

"I didn't take any big chances but I still kept the pressure on, and that's all I could do. We were only able to match the pace of Colin - not catch him."Sainz overcame severe back pain from a pinched nerve to record his fifth points finish in five rallies, requiring painkillers to make it through the rally.

"Physically, these are the hardest points I've ever had to work for," he said, before flying back to Spain to see a specialist.

Makinen continues to lead the drivers' championship on 27 points, although the margin back to Sainz is now just five points.

Harri Rovanpera, Didier Auriol and McRae share third position on 10 points while Burns and the consistent Francois Delecour sit in equal sixth on nine points. Delecour is one of only two competitors to have finished every rally this season.

Mitsubishi remains the leading manufacturer, although the margin over Ford has been reduced from 18 points to eight. Peugeot did not score any points this round but held onto third, while Subaru leap frogged Hyundai with the cars of Burns and Petter Solberg both in the points.

RACE RESULTS1 Colin McRae (Ford) 4:18:25.32 R Burns (Subaru) +26.93 C Sainz (Ford) +1:46.44 T Makinen (Mitsubishi) +3:12.65 P Solberg (Subaru) +3:47.06 Freddy Loix (Mitsubishi) +5:40.17 F Delecour (Ford) +6:10.98 Toshihiro Arai (Subaru) +10:55.79 Alister McRae (Hyundai) +13:58.910 Gabriel Pozzo (Mitsubishi) +20:15.1DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP1 Makinen (FIN) 272 Sainz (ESP) 22=3 Rovanpera (FIN) 10=3 Auriol (FRA) 10=3 C McRae (GB) 10=6 Burns (GB) 9=6 Delecour (FRA) 9=8 Thomas Radstrom (SWE) 6=8 Gilles Panizzi (FRA) 610 Toni Gardemeister (FIN) 5MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIP1 Mitsubishi 442 Ford 363 Peugeot 204 Subaru 165 Hyundai 86 Skoda 6Next round: Cyprus Rally, June 1-3