McRae's attitude in the face of adversity earned him many fans

The 35-year-old finished 20th overall after mechanical problems with his Nissan but managed to win two stages.

"I'd love to do it again and I have no reason to doubt I can win the Dakar with Nissan," McRae told the Guardian.

Nissan team manager Fred Gallagher described McRae's first attempt at the world's toughest rally as "probably the best debut performance I've ever seen".

McRae ended his first Dakar Rally in fine style by winning the last stage and emphasised his position as generally the quickest of the three Nissan drivers.

Dakar Rally in pictures

In the early stages of the race, McRae was well in touch with the leaders - riding as high as third place.

But transmission problems left McRae stranded in the African desert at one point and his challenge fell away.

"Everyone involved with the team knows we were unlucky with the technical problems which cost us a huge amount of time last weekend," said the Scot.

"But it's only Nissan's second year in the Dakar and it's still a learning experience for us all.

"What's more important is that we've got to the end of the rally and I have to thank all of the guys who kept my car going. Without them, I wouldn't have made it."

Gallagher acknowledged that the unreliability of McRae's car prevented the Scot from pulling off something special.

"People like Ari Vatanen and Juha Kankkunen have won on their first appearance but always with a superior car," he said.

"It was impressive that McRae was competitive, but it's more impressive that he's won the hearts of the Dakar regulars."