Colin McRae became the first British driver to win the RAC British rally three times with a magisterial drive to victory yesterday afternoon, but the result left him pleased rather than thrilled after a year that has combined frustration and elation in equal measure. Shattering records has become a routine process for the Subaru-driving Scot. This was his fifth world championship rally win of 1997 and his 13th in total, yet while he has won more rallies than anyone else this year, he was unable to deprive a groggy Tommi Makinen of the world championship by a single point.

A disastrous run of accidents and engine failures in mid season meant that even three consecutive wins in the Autumn have not been enough to overhaul the Finn. Makinen needed only to finish in sixth place to beat McRae and, despite a debilitating bout of flu, he earned the required point in the closest finish since 1979.

"It's nice to win your home rally - it's nice to win any rally - but you've got the championship in the back of your mind. It's small consolation. Really before the rally I accepted I wasn't going to be champion. I'm disappointed, but not devastated. We've won more rallies than him, which says something," McRae said.

"My secret is aspirin," confided Makinen. "Of course it's an incredible feeling. It was the most difficult rally for me. I am lucky that I needed only one point, because it would have been very, very difficult."

McRae has a genius for drama and the comfortable winning margin was achieved only as a result of an electrifying fight-back in the forests of Wales after losing 90 seconds in dense fog on Monday morning. McRae started yesterday morning tied with Richard Burns and, for the second day running, he was rocked on his heels by a startling drive in the fog from his younger rival. Burns gained 17 seconds in six miles on the first special stage and a furious McRae resorted to taping over his headlights for the second stage to minimise the glare, relying on spotlight alone.

He regained three seconds and the rally was finely poised until Burns got a puncture 12 miles from the end of the morning's third test. It was the last thing the Mitsubishi driver had expected, because all his Michelin tyres are fitted with puncture resistant inserts.

However, a stone had forced its way between the tyre and the wheel, creating a large gash that allowed the ceiling foam to escape. Burns lost four minutes and found himself demoted to fourth place-for the fifth time this season.

McRae was almost as disappointed as Burns. His rival's puncture presented him with a commanding lead over the Fords of Juha Kankkunen and Carlos Sainz and the unappealing prospect of a cruise to the finish. "Richard has put in the drive of the event - the drive of his life. His brief was to put pressure on Colin, but it never entered our heads that it would be him and Colin fighting for the lead," said Mitsubishi's team director Andrew Cowan.

Burns played a decisive role in ensuring that his team mate Makinen became world champion. He obeyed team orders on the Acropolis rally in June, dropping from third place to fourth to assist Makinen, who gained one point, his eventual winning margin, as a result.

"I was happy before the start that I could push hard. It's nice, because next year people will know what to expect. It won't be all McRae," stated a disconsolate Burns.

Burns is likely to be rewarded with the full world rally championship programme with Mitsubishi next season.

A double success for the McRae clan was thwarted when Colin's brother, Alister, was disqualified after winning the two-litre class. The front suspension on his Volkswagen Golf was found to have infringed technical rules.

The McRaes' father, Jim, was second in class in a Hyundai, on the Korean team's first appearance in Europe.