BBC SPORT | Motorsport | World Rally | McRae ready for Finnish onslaught

Colin McRae is under no illusions about the size of the task awaiting him as he prepares to close the gap on championship leader Marcus Gronholm in the Rally of Finland.

The Scottish Ford driver has moved to within seven points of Gronholm with victories in the last two events in Greece and Kenya.

But McRae acknolwedges that it is all but impossible for foreign drivers to win in Finland on 8-11 August - only two non-Scandinavia drivers have ever won the event.

McRae said: "I'd love to score a 2002 hat-trick in Finland, and I'll certainly go there with winning in mind, but this is still one of the most difficult rallies for a foreign driver to win.

The best way to prepare for this rally is to be born Finnish

Carlos Sainz
Ford driver

"With more, narrower stages being used it is getting a little easier to challenge the Nordic drivers with their immense local knowledge.

"But it's still a particularly tough task to triumph on this high-speed event," added McRae, who finished second there in 2000 and third last year.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz is equally wary of the event that used to be called the Rally of the 1,000 Lakes.

The Spaniard said: "This is a remarkably high-speed event and everything about the car has to be 100% correct for a driver to have maximum confidence in tackling the stages.

"Testing went very well and this year I think our chances of beating the Finns on their home ground are higher than ever.

"But you have to remember the best way to prepare for this rally is to be born Finnish and they are extremely motivated to win their home event."

Marcus Gronholm on his way to victory in Finland last year
Gronholm is hot favourite to win his home event
Gronholm has said that he believes his rivals for the title will be McRae and Englishman Richard Burns, who is Gronholm's team-mate at Peugeot.

Gronholm is hot favourite for his home rally, which he won last year.

Burns is in fifth place in the championship, 11 points behind second-placed McRae.

The Rally of Finland so favours drivers with local knowledge because of the unique nature of the gravel roads.

It is characterised by high-speed jumps - known as "yumps" - which are often quickly followed by a corner.

That means a driver has to know precisely where to place his car over a jump to ensure it is on the right line to take the corner.

If he gets it wrong, the chances are he will roll at speeds approaching 100mph into the forest that lines the road.


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