Rally notes -- Leg 1

Colin McRae hit a straw bale halfway through the first stage, denting the right rear of his Ford Focus. Co-driver Nicky Grist said: 'Colin just lost it. He left his braking too late and went off.'

Stage 2 - Cornbury:

Makinen hit a bank and nearly spun. He commented on the slippery conditions.

Burns lost time after spinning during the Cornbury stage. He put in a time of 3.01.6.

Auriol very nearly spun into the bales, losing time.

Stage 3 - Silverstone 1:

McRae slower, he's driving with damaged door [after Stage 1 incident] and window open.

Luis Climent spins in his Subaru, but rejoins the first Silverstone stage.

Stage 4 - Silverstone 2:

McRae completes stage without third gear. He heads straight to the Silverstone service, where they aim to fix the problem.

Panizzi damaged the front of his Peugeot.

Radstrom lost the rear bumper from his Ford Focus.

Schwarz reported a differential problem with the Skoda. 'The car is snaking all over the place, and won't drive in a straight line. It is very difficult to drive right now.'

Brundle suffered a suspected right rear puncture, and lost time behind a slower car during the Silverstone stage. Held 24th place at service.

Stage 5 - Blenheim:

SEAT driver Toni Gardemeister completed the stage with a flapping bonnet. He hit a straw bale, but survived with a 4.08.5.

Gronholm went wide and skirted along a wooden fence. However, this did not appear to affect his speed. He leads the stage times with a 3.56.6.

Colin McRae went third fastest. Ford mechanics replaced the door he damaged in the first stage of the rally at Cheltenham at his Silverstone service.

Makinen completed the stage, but put in a slower time of 4.05.5. He scraped a wooden fence, damaging his rear bumper, which continued to trail behind him.

Martin Brundle has lost 40 seconds after spinning into some hay bales on the stage. He completed the section in 4.42.5.