McRae escapes high-speed testing crash

McRae was giving the car its first outing before it debuts on the third round of the World Rally Championship in Portugal on March 8. The Scotsman was on his second run of the final day of testing when the car flipped and rolled after hitting a bank at the side of the road.

McRae and co-driver Ian Grindrod emerged a little shaken, but were unhurt. Grindrod, a former British Rally Championship co-driver was standing in for McRae's usual partner David Senior, who was on holiday.

"It all happened very fast," said McRae. "I just ran a little wide in a sixth gear corner and the car touched a bank. This flipped it into the road and it started to roll. We were going very fast and the car seemed to roll for a very long time. The test had gone very well up to that point, but something like this is always a risk when you're trying to realise all of a new car's potential."

The test car was written off by the accident, but will not hamper the first competitive outing of the new car next month. The Accent WRC2 features modifications to the chassis and has a new powertrain.

"We're very pleased with the way the car held up [in the accident]," said team boss David Whitehead. "Although it looks like we won't be able to use that particular car again, its structural integrity wasn't compromised. With the feedback we've received, it looks as if the new car is definitely a step in the right direction."