McRae wins in Spain

McRae's place with the Ford team has been the subject of much recent speculation so this win will be a crucial factor if Ford wishes to retain the services of the 1995 World Champion beyond the end of the year.

"I'd forgotten what it's like to win," admitted the Scot.

For Burns this was a famous result as it marked a significant return to asphalt form for Subaru and keeps Burns at the head of the World Championship as the series heads into a run of four gravel events where Subaru is expected to dominate.

There was double joy for Ford when Carlos Sainz took third place and ensured the first points for the team on this event since Malcolm Wilson took the helm three years ago.

World Champion Tommi Makinen was fourth while Peugeot played some tactical games to promote Marcus Gronholm into fifth at the finish, Gilles Panizzi suffering a mysterious 'fault' that saw him check out of the final service area six minutes late and slip to sixth.

The series, now cut to 13 events with the likely cancellation of China, moves to Argentina in a month's time.

Provisional results: