Sainz vows to battle on in Argentina

The Spaniard is suffering from a disc pressing on a sciatic nerve in his back, and he was forced to cut back his reconnaissance slightly in an attempt to recover. Team officials were initially concerned that he might have to miss the event altogether, but Sainz completed the practice with the loss of only one run over a couple of stages.

"I have felt better!" quipped Sainz when queried about his injury. "My back is quite painful - I only had one run over a couple of the stages in recce instead of two, but it's recovered quite well since then. I'm still in a bit of pain, though - I hope the painkillers keep working."

Sainz currently lies second in the WRC standings behind four-times champ Tommi Makinen. He is by far Ford's best bet for the crown, since Colin McRae has failed to score in any of the first four rounds.