Leg two: Burns bullish, Colin cautious

The speeding Subaru star took six stage wins out of a possible eight and is upbeat about his chances of taking his first win of the year.

"I'm confident that the gap (over McRae) is enough," said Burns. "The important thing is to get through the first stage on Sunday with no mistakes."

Ninth place on the road proved ideal for Burns to obtain a clean run through Saturday's twisting gravel stages, where the treacherous loose surface had been swept clear by floundering early runners. But the Oxfordshire driver is first on the road on leg three and is wary about the first of day's stages.

"There is a lot of gravel on the first two," he said. "But then it's not so bad later on."

Three of Sunday's stages will be repeated, which should lessening effects of being the first car on the road. This is in complete contrast to leg one's overnight leader Kenneth Eriksson, who slipped to 11th place on Saturday, unable to do anything about the complete lack of grip provided by the road surface.

Colin McRae has tracked Burns all the way on Saturday and, barring disaster, it would seem likely that one of these two drivers will claim the spoils come Sunday. McRae has one the event three times, but the Scot isn't quite as confident about his chances of scoring a win this time round.

"Tomorrow is about keeping a hold of second rather than fighting for the win," said McRae. "We'll try hard for sure, but the only way we'll have a chance is if Richard has problems. There is still six points available and that could give me a championship lead."

Tommi Makinen is leading the standings, but is currently lying in seventh going into the last day.

For SS16, Tokatoka results, click here.

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For full entry list click here.

For the itinerary click here.