McRae Not Ruling Out 2006 Return

McRae will be competing in his first event for nearly two years when he will drive a Fabia WRC 05 in next month's event.

The Scot could use the experience to evaluate whether a full-time return to the sport with Skoda next year is a viable option. McRae last drove in the WRC for Citroen in 2003, however a change in rules over the number of manufacturer scoring cars meant he was dropped by French manufacturer.

"I'm ruling nothing out for the future but we are just concentrating on this one event and treating it as a one-off," McRae said. "The important thing is to get into the Fabia as soon as possible and start work adjusting it to my liking.

"Part of my reason for agreeing to join the team is to try and help move the development of the car along as quickly as possible. I saw when I drove the Fabia WRC last year in Spain that it has great potential and so I'm confident that I can help to make a difference.

"For some time now I've been keen to get back into the WRC and I've also been having talks for some time with Skoda Motorsport that have led to me achieving that aim. The icing on the cake is that it's for Rally GB. It's obviously always been a special rally for me and so if there was one particular rally I'd choose to make a comeback on, this would be the one. I'm really looking forward to it."

The Czech manufacturer has arranged an extensive test programme to get the Scot up to speed with contemporary WRC machinery, who last drove a car testing for the team last October.

"It should give Nicky and I plenty of time to get used to the car," McRae added. "Obviously I'm going to be a little bit rusty at first but we should be able to get it set up the way we want and be in good shape when we get to the start line.

"My aim is to achieve the best result possible for the team and myself. We'll try to finish well into the points and anything after that will be a bonus.

"It's been about 18 months since I last competed on the WRC but the rally was run in November and was the final round of the Championship that year. I've got to get back into full physical fitness before the rally and I need as much time in the car as possible to make sure I'm up to speed when the event starts."