Skoda confirms McRae

Colin McRae will make his second WRC appearance of the season for Skoda on the forthcoming Rally Australia, but the Czech manufacturer has still to make a decision on it's future in the series.

The Scot claimed Skoda's first drivers' championship points of the season when he finished seventh on last month's Wales Rally GB, his first WRC drive in almost two years.

Although his performance was not the headline-grabbing return his fans had hoped for, Skoda chiefs were impressed with his feedback.

Team spokesman Juan Sureda said: "He helped our engineers with the car and we improved quite a lot when he did Rally GB with us".

McRae, who won Rally Australia in 1994 and 1997, added: "I think we can get another good result this time because we should be able to make good use of our road position".

Sreda added that Skoda is due to decide during next week whether it will remain in the WRC for 2006. The manufactureris expected to contest at least a partial programme, but this has not been confirmed.

Sreda said:"It's a good step forward for the championship to have some manufacturers like us, who don't necessarily have the budget to do all 16 events. At the moment it looks like we won't do the full championship next season, but we will study the FIA proposals and try to find any solution that will allow us to stay involved".

Sureda hopes a decision on Skoda's future will be made public before Rally Australia on November 10-12.

Details from Motorsport News