McRae: Ford must win soon

McRae acknowledges the team was lucky to take a full haul of 16 manufacturers' points away from last month's Rally Argentina following the exclusions of Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm. But Ford still lies 27 points behind the French team and the former world champ knows the team must score heavily again in Greece and Kenya to keep the pressure on Peugeot.

"If luck hadn't been on our side in Argentina our title chances in both the drivers' and manufacturers' championships would have been pretty grim," said McRae. "However, it's essential we come away from the Acropolis and the Safari with at least one win and I hope we can get that in Greece."

If previous form is anything to go by, Ford has a good chance of winning in Greece; McRae has won here for the past two years and was looking likely to win in Cyprus - a similar rough gravel event - until he rolled on the last day. McRae's team mate Carlos Sainz - also a previous Acropolis winner - concurs with the Scot about the importance of the Greek event to the team.

"We should be fully competitive in Greece and from the championship perspective, that's important," said the Spaniard. "This rally and the next on in Kenya are crucial to our title hopes."