It's been a complete disaster, says Alister.

Crocked Mitsubishi star Alister McRae says he's 'incredibly frustrated' to miss this weekend's Network Q Rally GB as he continues to recover from a mountain biking accident sustained earlier this year.

McRae bruised his liver when he landed squarely on his back in a fall during the run up to the Sanremo Rally last September. While the Scot feels fine, any sudden jolt could harm his liver, so McRae has missed the final three rounds of the season and is having to take things easy.

"It's been a complete disaster for me ever since September," lamented McRae, who is currently resting in Australia. "Every time you think that you're ready to come back, you get another setback. But to miss the last round when it's your home event as well is incredibly frustrating. It'll mean that when Monte Carlo starts next year, I won't have competed since the first day of Sanremo."

With Jani Paasonen still standing in for the injured McRae, Justin Dale has been given the opportunity to compete on Rally GB in the third works Mitsubishi and McRae wishes the 2002 British Super 1600 champion well.

"It's going to be really difficult for Justin. He's been driving Super 1600s all year and now he's trying to step up to a World Rally Car, and on an event where conditions can be really difficult as well," conceded McRae.

"He's got a new car and a new team to cope with, and he's got very little previous four-wheel drive experience as well. At least when I drove the Subaru in 1998 as a one-off, I'd already had plenty of Group N experience in four-wheel drive and some outings in a Group A Subaru a few years earlier. But I wish him all the luck in the world - it's a great opportunity for any young driver to get a works car and this is clearly a chance that he just couldn't turn down."