McRae: Title more important than records

The Ford ace equalled the record of 23 WRC wins held by Juha Kankkunen and Carlos Sainz when he finished first in Greece. Victory in next month's Safari Rally will take him top of the winners' list, and will also make him the first man in the history of the series to take four wins in a row.

But McRae says he is looking at building on the momentum gained from victories in Argentina, Cyprus and Greece - which blasted him from zero points to 30 and the title lead - rather than gunning for records.

"The records are alright, but what we really need is to keep it going," said McRae. "What's most important is that we continue our run, rather than beat the record."

But with McRae's team mate Sainz also looking to get back into the thick of the title battle on the Safari after a heart-breaking retirement from second on the very last stage in Greece, Ford could see either of its drivers leaving Kenya with the outright win record, especially given the Focus RS's form on rough events..

"Colin is still one of a few championship favourites," said Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson. "Having reliability has played a big part in the last three results and if we can keep that up for the rest of the year, you have to say that Colin and Carlos should be right up there."

McRae says the victory hat-trick has taken some of the pressure off him, but is confident of a good result in Kenya.

"If the car keeps going like it has in the last three events, then you have got to be confident of scoring well everywhere," he said. "The Safari has traditionally been good for the team and for me, and the conditions are similar to Greece, so I'm optimistic."

The Safari Rally runs from July 13-15.