Double crash is expensive for McRae

Colin McRae, the overnight leader, rolled his car twice in three stages in yesterday's last day of the Cyprus Rally, slipped to sixth place and handed victory to Marcus Gronholm.

"It was raining heavily when we rolled a second time," said McRae. "I was driving quite tidily but just got caught out." Gronholm, in a Peugeot, finished 56.8 seconds ahead of Richard Burns, with Tommi Makinen 2.2sec further back in third. Gronholm moves to 31 points in the championship, with Gilles Panizzi second on 20.

A tense final stage battle fell to Richard Burns after Subaru's Tommi Makinen spun, allowing Burns to secure Peugeot's fourth one-two finish in a row.

Burns said: "Colin was strong here but you also have to be strong not to make mistakes. "I had a lot to learn when I started this rally and I drove with that in mind. It's a fantastic result for the team."