McShea ready for Opel junior assault

The 28-year-old who finished third in last year's series in a Citroen Saxo, has a new team for 2002. He has teamed up with Ray Mallock and will debut the Opel Corsa Super 1600 on the glamorous Monte-Carlo event.

This is McShea's first assault on the rally's snowy mountain tracks and he is well aware of how difficult the event is. "I am under no illusions about the challenges [co-driver] Michael Orr and I will face getting to grips with the conditions," he said. "The whole championship is designed to prepare us for the step up to the manufacturer world rally championship teams and this is all part of the learning curve."

The team has spent 10 months preparing the car for McShea, who will battle against 30 other aspiring drivers including the talented Belgian Francois Duval for the Junior world championship crown.

"Everyone in the team is champing at the bit to get started and show what we can achieve," said McShea. "The start of any new season is exciting, but to debut a new car in Monte Carlo is going to be particularly hard because of the unique challenges it brings."

The series six-round calendar then moves to Spain (Catalunya), Greece (Acropolis), Germany (Rallye Deutschland) and Italy (San Remo) before it reaches its climax at the Rally of Great Britain.