Rallying: McRae stays on the pace

COLIN McRAE, of Scotland, is in contention for victory in the New Zealand rally after a tussle with Didier Auriol during the second day at Rotorua yesterday.

McRae, in a Subaru, trailed his French rival by two seconds after the overnight leader, Ari Vatanen, of Finland, crashed out with a broken suspension.

The world champion, Carlos Sainz, of Spain, had an indifferent day in his Lancia, dropping from second to fourth after a series of problems, including a suspension failure, an engine misfire and a loss of power assistance with the steering.