1995 World Rally champion, Colin McRae returned to action in the WRC over the weekend and it was no fairytale 'homecoming' for the Scot, who struggled in the changeable conditions and who eventually retired in the final test after an alternator problem.

McRae, who was drafted in by Kronos Citroen following Sebastien Loeb's mountain bike accident, began the event reasonably brightly and while he struggled with some of his tyre choices he was reasonably confident following the opening leg.

Saturday though brought more misery for the Scot and he once again struggled to select the correct tyres ending the leg in seventh overall having failed to get to grips with the conditions.

"It's been a frustrating and difficult day,” he noted after the second leg. “I've not enjoyed it, what with the hail in Chimera 1 [SS14] 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. On Sunday I'm hoping for normal conditions, so that we can up our pace and end the rally on a positive note."

Despite normal conditions on the final day though, McRae didn't get his wish and he only set the tenth best time on SS17 and the ninth best in SS18, before mechanical problems forced him out, while running seventh overall and on course to score three manufacturers' points for the team.

Kronos boss, Marc van Dalen was disappointed to see the Scot go out: "Colin and Nicky [Grist]'s retirement was naturally a shame for our chances in the constructors' championship,” he added. “In such a closely-fought contest [with Ford] every point counts.”

Whether or not McRae will be needed - or will get the call-up for the next event in Australia in two weeks time has yet to be confirmed.