Stage eight: Makinen snatches lead

Tommi Makinen has taken the lead of the rally after SS8, but is only 0.3s ahead of Colin McRae, with Burns a further 1.5s in arrears.

Carlos Sainz is also close, just under 4s away from the rally lead in the remaining works Toyota.

While the battle for the lead hots up, those behind are falling away rapidly. The reverse seeding system, designed to make sure that the roads are in the best condition for the frontrunners, caught out SEAT's Harri Rovanpera, who lost nearly two minutes trapped behind Subaru privateer Freddy Dor.

Rovanpera's team-mate Toni Gardemeister is flying however, despite suffering from a serious stomach upset, he is now in sixth place and closing on Freddy Loix, shrugging off a 10s penalty for checking in late.

It's not a good rally for Peugeot so far, mechanical problems delaying both Francois Delecour and Marcus Gronholm. The French newcomers currently languish in 10th and 11th places.

The only other notable retirement since Didier Auriol and Juha Kankkunen has been Group N star Hamed Al Wahaibi, a mechanical problem on SS7 accounting for his Mitsubishi.

Positions after SS8, Flynns: