McRae grateful to 'team-mate' Tuohino.

Carlos Sainz may have taken another podium finish in Sweden, but the real hero of the event for Ford was privateer Janne Tuohino, who helped Colin McRae score points after a nightmare rally.

The Finn looked destined to score his first points in a WRC entry, after mixing it with the likes of Sainz, world champion Richard Burns, Kenneth Eriksson and Freddy Loix during the three-day event, but was denied the opportunity by a mercy call from the factory Ford team.

With McRae, once in third place, fighting desperately to claw back any points at all after losing three minutes with a broken wheel and then spinning into a ditch on the final stage, Tuohino was asked to take a time penalty after the end of the last special stage. This delay - worth ten seconds to his overall time - dropped the Focus-mounted Finn from fifth to seventh in the final standings.

"I was delighted to help," Tuohino said, "We've not put a spanner on the car all rally and I'm so happy to finish so high."

A relieved McRae was quick to pay tribute to his 'team-mate', claiming that his actions could prove crucial in what is shaping up to be another close championship battle.

"We had to give everything in the final stage but we spun into a ditch halfway through and lost about 20secs," the Scot said, "After losing time yesterday with a broken wheel, a points finish looked out of the question, but we gave our best and we were rewarded by sticking with it. These points could prove crucial later in the season."

McRae now lies sixth in the championship with four points, despite having scored on both the opening two events. Sweden winner Marcus Gronholm is the current series leader with twelve points.