McRae's hopes bite the dust as he crashes out

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Jan 6, 2005

Colin McRae will fly back to Britain today after seeing his Dakar Rally hopes disappear in the Saharan dust.

The Scotsman was leading the event when he crashed his Nissan heavily, ending his challenge instantly.

McRae, a former world rally champion, is suffering from blurred vision after the heavy impact ( while co-driver Tina Thorner is troubled by back pain.

McRae had been on course for another stage win after leading the pack through the final checkpoint of stage six, but in the closing stages he crashed out.

"They lost control of the pickup after a very heavy landing on one of the numerous jumps and were sent into a multiple roll," a Nissan spokeswoman said.

Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel re-discovered his form to triumph in yesterday's stage and move from 14th to fifth overall.

The Mitsubishi driver said: "This was one of the fastest stages ever on the Dakar. I had one rear right flat tyre but I feel much better now and am looking forward to the rest of the rally."

Volkswagen's Bruno Saby is the new leader after taking second place on stage six, with skiing great Luc Alphand just 40 seconds behind in a Mitsubishi.

Alphand said: "I saved my car through Morocco, so we are in good shape for the next few days. I would have been happy with my current position if you had given me this in Spain."

Former winner Jutta Kleinschmidt, driving a Volkswagen, moved up a place to third overall following McRae's misfortune.

In the bike category, Cyril Despres moved into the overall lead despite finishing yesterday's stage only fourth.

Leading Briton Mike Extance, from Derbyshire, slipped to 39th overall after losing 99 minutes in finishing the stage 45th.

British Honda rider John Griffiths was forced to pull out of the event after breaking his wrist in an accident.