McRae wins in Cyprus; Ford leads makes' title
Colin McRae has moved right back in to the thick of the battle for the World Rally Championship drivers' title with a brilliant tactical victory on the Cyprus Rally. A maximum 10 points puts the Ford driver just seven behind points-leader Tommi Makinen with eight rounds and a total of 80 points still on offer
McRae was followed home by Subaru's Richard Burns, who moves into fourth in the overall standings, and his Ford team mate Carlos Sainz in third. The consistent Spaniard now moves within one point of Makinen, while Ford takes a useful lead at the top of the makes' standings.
McRae's tactical drive meant the Scot started the second and third legs tucked in behind the leaders each day(Marcus Gronholm and Burns respectively). With Burns acting as road-sweeper, McRae was able to pounce in a final day charge. The gameplan caused controversy in Burns' camp, but Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson defended the decision.
"Tactics played a very big part," said Wilson. "You can't take anything away from Colin's performance, but there was psychological battle last night over who would run first on the road and we won it.
"What made the difference between winning and losing here was our position in the championship before we came here," he added, referring to the crucial original starting order on day one.
"We're delighted for leading the manufacturers' championship, but it's important that both our drivers are up there on their leaderboard too.
"These type of events do seem to suit our car. It's a strong package and the suspension is good. After our performance last year [when the team scored a one-two], we always felt confident here."
Wilson says that now the team has got both drivers in the thick of the title battle, it will endeavour to keep the momentum up by honing its asphalt performance too.
"It's no secret we're making big efforts on asphalt, especially with Pirelli," he said. "We're doing an incredible amount of testing - let's hope it all comes together before the next asphalt round [Sanremo in October]."
Click here for the Championship standings.
SS22, Mari 2: Burns wins battle, McRae wins war
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