Grist: McRae's days are numbered (From Free Press Series)

Grist: McRae's days are numbered

MONMOUTHSHIRE rally great Nicky Grist believes his old team mate Colin McRae could be on his way out of the sport.

Speaking exclusively to the Free Press, Grist, the second most successful world rally championship co-driver of all time, said that McRae's poor run of form could cost him his Citron seat next season.

"It's not looking good for Colin. He's in a position where he has got 27 points and there's only one top-drive contract available at Citron.

"I have a feeling he could be left on the shelf. Carlos (Sainz) is second in the championship, has won a rally this season and is bringing money to the table to pay himself next season. On top of that he is a hard worker. Colin will be looking for around three million pounds next year so you can see which is the more attractive deal for Citron.

"Colin doesn't need the money, but from a pride point of view he'll want to be racing next season," said Grist who partnered the flying Scot for five seasons.

The Welshman admitted that McRae's downward spiral had come as a bit of a surprise. "To be honest, it would have been hard to have believed Colin would be in this position now when I was racing with him last season.

"There's a new breed of driver competing in the championship and they are doing exceptionally well. In hindsight, the old school will have to work hard to secure their positions and that includes Colin," warned Grist.

Speaking from Australia, where the World Rally Championship roars into action this weekend, Grist predicted a straight fight between Peugeot and Ford for the top podium spot.

"There's quite a lot of interesting stuff going on with the championship. I think, though, in Australia there is really only going to be a fight between Peugeot and Ford for the number one spot and for me Ford's Markko Martin is going to be in there with a big shout.

"As far as the championship goes, (Richard) Burns will continue his strategy of a reliable run. In his position (championship leader) he doesn't need to win, just keep plugging away with the points below.

"Other than being reliable, he has not necessarily done a great job this year. He's just kept using the new points system and that's put him in this position.

"From Peugeot's point of view, they have felt they don't need to keep him. Really, though, he has never quite settled there. He's taken a reduced fee to move to Subaru, but I think a lot of drivers are in the same boat of losing out financially with new deals," explained Grist.

As always, he'll be working with some of the sport's leading TV channels, giving his expert view on the weekend's action Down Under.