McRae’s Dakar dreams dashed by dodgy gearbox

COLIN MCRAE’S dreams of Dakar Rally glory were lying in tatters last night following a second consecutive mechanical failure.

The Scotsman lost almost three hours on Thursday when he lost his four-wheel-drive system and transmission gremlins struck again yesterday to leave him completely out of contention.

McRae, the 1995 World Rally champion, suffered a gearbox problem ion his Nissan during the 736-kilometre stage from Tidjikja to Nema in Mauritania which meant he had to creep towards the finish line.