1995 World Rally champion, Colin McRae ended the second leg of the Rally of Turkey on Saturday in seventh position overall and the Scot was far from pleased with his form.

McRae again struggled with the wrong tyres this morning and conceded more time, as he could only post the seventh quickest time in SS10 and the 13th best in SS11. The second loop didn't go much better either and he was only eighth on the second go through Kemer and 11th through Silyon 2.

“It's not great! We didn't choose the right compound [for the first loop] - my tyres were too soft for the road conditions and the temperature, so I had to be careful,” he explained. “It's really difficult here in service to anticipate what is happening in the mountains. [On the second loop] the road was dry in Kemer except for the start which was damp but it was even drier in the next one [SS13]. The drive was OK but not the times. I had a good feeling and I don't think I made any mistakes but the times aren't here. For sure I am a bit disappointed.

“We are struggling a bit to find traction on hard ground. It's also a bit of a gamble when the tyre nomination had been done for normal Turkish conditions and not like the ones we've encountered so far."

In the final loop though McRae seemed to click a bit more with his Xsara and he was fifth quickest in SS14 and eighth in SS15, which was affected by snow and hail. He then finished the day with the second best time in the super special, but was still not a very happy bunny.

"It's been a frustrating and difficult day. I've not enjoyed it, what with the hail in Chimera that would have made even walking difficult - and that horrible stage where Dani [Sordo – my team-mate] set an excellent fastest time. It's the sort of thing that you just want to get over with,” he added. “Tomorrow I'm hoping for normal conditions, so that we can up our pace and end the rally on a positive note."

McRae's Kronos team-mates meanwhile fared slightly better and were a lot more positive following the second leg. Indeed Xavier Pons currently heads the way for the Beglian-based squad and is sixth in the third car, while Sordo is tenth and while the youngster isn't overly happy with his position, he was delighted to take his very first stage win on gravel in SS15.

"I'm not as high up the order as I would have liked, but there are many positive aspects to this rally - in particular my excellent feeling with the Xsara and the quality of our notes,” said the 2005 Junior WRC champion. “I set two fourth-fastest times on stages I didn't know and I took my first stage win on gravel [in SS15]. It's been a good day."