McRae loses Citroen WRC drive

Citroen's decision to retain Sainz, currently second in the WRC standings, means that McRae's options for 2004 are extremely limited. His only manufacturer choices would be with one of the smaller WRC teams, such as Skoda, Hyundai or Mitsubishi.

Last week, the Scot admitted that he would be open to buying a drive with one of the top teams, even though he would not be eligible to score points in the manufacturers' championship.

"Trying to find that kind of money this late in the year is going to be hard work, but if that's what it takes, then that's what we'll do," he told AUTOSPORT. "If that doesn't work and I have to take a year out of the sport, then I'll just have to do that."

On his decision to release McRae, Citroen's rally boss Guy Fréquelin said: "This has been one the toughest decisions I have had to take during my career as team director. The qualities of neither Colin nor Carlos have never been in doubt. Both are top-notch drivers with impressive track records.

"In an ideal world, we would have kept both of them as team-mates for Seb. But we had to choose. I would like to stress Colin's tremendous motivation and everything he has achieved for us. Throughout the season, both these factors have contributed to Citroën's results so far."

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McRae loses Citroen WRC drive

British rally legend Colin McRae has been left in the WRC wilderness after Citroen confirmed today (Friday) that Carlos Sainz will be retained for its second seat alongside Sebastien Loeb next year