McRae fired up for RallyScotlandposted in RSCOT02 | 10 | 2010

TWELVE MONTHS after finishing on the podium in the opening RallyScotland, former British champ Alister McRae will return to action for Proton in the Intercontinental Rally Championship in Perth next week.

The Lanark driver, now living in Perth, Australia, has been focusing on this year's Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and recently came close to clinching a home win for the Proton in Malaysia.

The Scot — who will face stiff competition from IRC champ-elect Juha Hanninen's Skoda, and the Peugeot of last year's champ Kris Meeke — is now turning his attention to Friday, October 15 and the start of the three-day IRC event when he will again drive his Proton Satria S2000.

"I haven't competed in front of the Scottish fans since last year's rally so it's obviously going to be very special for me to be there," McRae, who will be partnered by recently crowned British Rally Champion Keith Cronin, said today.

"It's a massive sporting event for the whole country to come and enjoy with a fantastic backdrop, great access for the public, superb organisation and some of the most demanding stages any rally driver will ever face.

"It's going to be an awesome spectacle for the fans. There are going to be way more S2000 cars than in 2009 and they will all be going extremely quickly which will make repeating the second place I achieved last year very difficult.

"It'll be important to push as hard as possible from the word 'go' to hopefully stay in touch as much as possible starting the final day and, from there, who knows what could happen.

"I know most of the stages well from my earlier career which could be an advantage, particularly if we get a bit of good old fashioned drizzle which is always a possibility at this time of year."

Jim McGill