McRae excited by Dakar challenge

Former world rally champion Colin McRae is excited by the challenge of the 6,800-mile Dakar Rally.

The Scotsman has opted to compete in the endurance classic after being left without a drive in the World Rally Championship, which he won in 1995.

McRae will drive a Nissan in the epic trek from France to Dakar in Senegal, which begins on New Year’s Day and lasts for 18 days.

After making his name on much shorter rallies, McRae expects the Dakar Rally to be a new challenge but is confident he can make his mark, likening the event to the now defunct Safari Rally which pitted WRC stars against the Kenyan sand.

He said: “The car will be radically different to what I am used to, as it is Nissan’s Double Cab 4x4, but this is all about taking on a new challenge and I am really looking forward to it.

“I always enjoyed the Safari Rally because of the challenging terrain and different approach required to conserve the car and still be quick.

“Now I will have the chance to tackle a true endurance event, and I cannot wait in all honesty.

“My co-driver will be Tina Thorner, who has done this event many times, and I’ll be banking on her experience and that of my team-mate Ari Vatanen to help me through my first Paris-Dakar.”

The Dakar Rally is used to big-name entrants, especially from the world rally stage, but few have created the same expectation as McRae, who at 35 still has time yet at the top.

Nissan’s Dakar Rally chief Gilles Martineau is also expecting big things of McRae.

However, Martineau refuses to talk of a victory for the Scot, with the Dakar Rally favouring drivers with more experience of the long journey through the Sahara Desert.

Martineau said: “The fact that Colin McRae has joined Nissan is a major topic in Europe and elsewhere.

“I worked with him in the World Rally Championships. Colin, who was world champion in 1995, is an extremely experienced driver and has remarkable talent.

“It will be very interesting to see how he goes with co-driver Tina Thorner, who can match him in experience, in this long event, which lasts three weeks.

“Colin is known for blinding speed in gravel rallies, but I expect him to enjoy driving this traditional desert rally.”

One man certain to put up a stiff fight is reigning champion Hiroshi Masuoka, who will again drive a Mitsubishi.

The Japanese driver’s team boss Dominique Serieys – himself a Dakar winner in 1993 – is desperate to win Mitsubishi’s fourth straight title, with Stephane Peterhansel also keen to improve on his third last year.

Serieys said: “The 2004 Dakar returns to a more traditional format with some long and difficult stages. It will not be easy, but we have the cars and the team to win again. That is the obvious goal.

“I feel that we have a very good team. Stephane has shown time and again that he is one of the fastest cross country rally drivers in the world.

“Hiroshi has proved that he has the pace and the determination to win and with Miki Biasion and Andrea Mayer we have two very competent drivers to complete the line-up.”

Mark and Paul Round will join McRae in flying the British flag, as will fellow Land Rover drivers Paul Green and Daniel Upton.

In the truck category, Russia’s Vladimir Tchaguine is defending champion, with Brazil’s Andre de Azevedo looking to improve on his runners-up spot.