Ford duo reflect after mixed fortunes

Radtstrom returned to the Ford line-up for the first time since breaking his leg in February, and put in a solid performance yesterday to finish sixth on the leaderboard.

His enforced lay-off did not seem to have unduly affected him, and he posted consistent times in all of Sunday's eight stages through the narrow and rocky roads of the Andes foothills.

'I had to be very careful because on some stages there were stones the size of a football lying in the road, dragged there by cars in front of us,' he said.

'I spun the car on stage six and stalled the engine, losing around 20 seconds. I also had six punctures during the day but the mousse system on Michelin's tyres worked well to keep them inflated.'

McRae made a great start to the day, clocking the fastest time on the first stage, but he was forced to retire on the second when he clipped a rock while going over a crest.

The car flipped onto its side, and although McRae and his co-driver Nicky Grist pushed the car upright, the impact had broken a pin in the front suspension, and their race was run.

'It's obviously disappointing to retire so early,' said the ex-world champion.

'The car went really well on the first stage today, we set fastest time without really pushing that hard.

'We were just unlucky to hit a rock but that's typical Argentina, you have to pick your line very carefully and hope that luck is on your side. It wasn't with us today.'