Colin McRae's glittering career with Subaru ended in Rally of Britain heartbreak yesterday - but his brother Alister could yet turn the despair into joy.

An engine failure on a road section after stage 19 shattered McRae's bid for a record-equalling fourth victory, just when he held a comfortable lead and looked well on the way to leaving Subaru for Ford on the highest note.

But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon in the shape of McRae junior, for whom victory in the prestigious event on his one-off appearance with Subaru remains a possibility.

Fellow Briton Richard Burns is the only man ahead of Alister with seven more stages to complete. The Mitsubishi driver held a lead of 75 seconds at the end of the second leg and took full advantage of being left in front by the former world champion's exit.

Steering clear of trouble is not easy in this event, as Colin McRae and yesterday's most notable casualty Tommi Makinen will testify.

Makinen admitted he had "thrown away" the World Championship when skidding out, handing the initiative to Carlos Sainz.

And the Spaniard almost did the same on yesterday's penultimate stage where only a perfectly-positioned exit road denied Makinen a surprise reprieve.

There was no second chance, however, for McRae. The engine problem was initially diagnosed as a damaged piston.

"It's the end of a bad season for me," said McRae.