Fred Gallagher had been only an occasional WRC competitor for the best part of a decade when he landed a full-time deal with Ford in 1999, to partner Thomas Rådström on loose-surface events and Simon Jean-Joseph on asphalt.

“Thomas and I finished third in Sweden,” he says, “a massive result after both cars had been excluded for water pump irregularities on the Monte. We had a bit of a post-event party and then flew on to Nairobi, with the idea of having a day off before starting the Safari recce. A good friend invited me out to lunch at a private club and I was looking forward to a bit of time away from my rally buddies – but then Colin McRae walked in, asked where we were going and my mate invited him along… So, Colin, his co-driver Nicky Grist, Thomas and I all went – and it turned into a proper lunch, lots of wine, and we were in fine form when we got back to the hotel in the evening.

“But then Colin thought it would be a good idea to do a rugby tackle in the hotel lobby, which had a marble floor, and broke poor Thomas’s thigh…

“You can imagine the conversation with Malcolm Wilson that evening, but it must have been 10 years before I told him the full story. Thomas had a reputation for frolics and got the blame, but it was 100 per cent Colin. The net result was Ford flying in this promising back-up, Petter Solberg, and we took fifth.”