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
Colin and Richard at odds over tactics

Latest news
What Autosport is looking forward to in 2023
There’s a lot happening this season, so here are the highlights Autosport staffers and contributors are getting excited about…
Busch calls out "disrespect from everybody" in "disaster" NASCAR Clash
Kyle Busch has called out "disrespect from everybody" in Sunday's "disaster" NASCAR Cup Series pre-season Clash at Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum.
Why the time was right for Ford's F1 return with Red Bull
Some 22 years after pulling the plug out of Jaguar and handing the keys to a certain Dietrich Mateschitz, the paths of Ford and Red Bull have crossed again. And their 2026 Formula 1 alliance makes sense for both parties.
Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver
Reigning Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will serve as Peugeot’s official reserve driver in its first full season in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.