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Colin McRae's agent, Campbell Roy, has confirmed that the former World Rally Champion is considering a possible return to the series in some form in 2005.
Earlier this week, McRae took part in a secret test with the Skoda team ahead of this weekends Rally Catalunya, although a spokesman for the Czech manufacturer confirmed to Crash.net that McRae had not gone away with a contract to sign for next season.
Now Roy has told the BBC that McRae will have a number of meetings in Spain this weekend regarding next season, although with a deal already in place with Nissan for the 2005 running of the Dakar, the 1995 World Champion is looking for a partial return rather than a full 16 event season.
"We have a few meetings in Catalunya regarding a partial programme in the WRC next year," Roy said. "He's not ruled anything out but his preferred option is a partial return."
Roy also admitted that McRae was keeping his options open, despite his run in the Fabia WRC. However, it may be that McRae is trying to secure a drive with the Czech team for his protégé Kris Meeke, who will debut the Citroen C2 in the Junior World Rally Championship this weekend.
Reports earlier in the year suggested that McRae was hoping to get Meeke a full programme in a Fabia next season, while also driving a third car on limited events himself, and Roy said that helping the team develop the Fabia to become a contender in the WRC could be appealing to McRae.
"Skoda are trying to up their game and become more competitive,” he said. “If Colin could be of assistance and help them that would be good, if a deal can be done.
"He did have a test with Skoda but that was because it was one of the few cars that he hadn't actually sat in and driven. It was to get an assessment of the car really.
"Colin is looking to do something that would involve both him and Kris in a drive for next year. Kris has proved he's got the pace and we want to get him in a more competitive car.”
Article from: Crash.Net
Earlier this week, McRae took part in a secret test with the Skoda team ahead of this weekends Rally Catalunya, although a spokesman for the Czech manufacturer confirmed to Crash.net that McRae had not gone away with a contract to sign for next season.
Now Roy has told the BBC that McRae will have a number of meetings in Spain this weekend regarding next season, although with a deal already in place with Nissan for the 2005 running of the Dakar, the 1995 World Champion is looking for a partial return rather than a full 16 event season.
"We have a few meetings in Catalunya regarding a partial programme in the WRC next year," Roy said. "He's not ruled anything out but his preferred option is a partial return."
Roy also admitted that McRae was keeping his options open, despite his run in the Fabia WRC. However, it may be that McRae is trying to secure a drive with the Czech team for his protégé Kris Meeke, who will debut the Citroen C2 in the Junior World Rally Championship this weekend.
Reports earlier in the year suggested that McRae was hoping to get Meeke a full programme in a Fabia next season, while also driving a third car on limited events himself, and Roy said that helping the team develop the Fabia to become a contender in the WRC could be appealing to McRae.
"Skoda are trying to up their game and become more competitive,” he said. “If Colin could be of assistance and help them that would be good, if a deal can be done.
"He did have a test with Skoda but that was because it was one of the few cars that he hadn't actually sat in and driven. It was to get an assessment of the car really.
"Colin is looking to do something that would involve both him and Kris in a drive for next year. Kris has proved he's got the pace and we want to get him in a more competitive car.”
Article from: Crash.Net
