McRae ready to crank it up as Tommi flies

The Ford ace conceded that Makinen's pace had been impossible to match over the day's opening two stages - when the Flying Finn cut McRae's overnight lead from 30.2 seconds to just 2.5 - but admitted that he had tackled the snow and black ice of Turriers and Sisteron with too much caution.

"I went a bit too carefully in Sisteron," said the Scot to Autosport.com. "I was on more or less the right tyres, but I just went too slowly on the snow.

"I was still a little surprised to have lost so much time to Tommi there," he added, "but no way could I have done his time."

Ominously for McRae, Makinen, whose Lancer runs on Michelins, against Ford's Pirellis, said he could have been even faster on Sisteron with a different choice of tyre.

"The conditions were a little better than I expected," said Makinen, "but in Sisteron our tyre was a little too soft. I still made a good time because I gained a big advantage on the climb at the beginning of the stage."

The afternoon's three stages should be mostly dry tarmac, meaning a switch from studs to slicks, although a return to Sisteron after darkness could prove tricky. On leg one form, McRae's Focus appears to have an edge on racing slicks, but with Makinen still in maximum attack mode, anything could happen.