The debate as to which camp fields the best drivers has been long debated and perhaps will never be answered. However, it seems that the odd rally ace who gets a chance in a Grand Prix car tends to do well. The fiery Colin McRae was no exception, as he and F1 driver-turned-pundit Martin Brundle traded machinery on one glorious day in 1996.

Brundle, an accomplished F1 driver and Le Mans winner, had the chance to drive McRae’s Subaru 555 WRC Impreza in return for his tarmac tutelage, but the focus was really on the Scot’s performance in the wailing, V10-powered Jordan 196. Certainly, many of the team owners were biting their nails that day as McRae had a reputation for crashing quite spectacularly.

Nevertheless, the Scot showed everyone that managing a rally car on loose surfaces does something for one’s sense of car control, as his forceful driving style elicited numerous twitches and small drifts from the thoroughbred racing car. McRae was not overwhelmed by the immense performance, in fact, he reveled in it.

Both men took to the other’s car quite well – Brundle in particular sliding the rally car like a natural.

Eddie Jordan looked on approvingly, mentioning the man’s potential as a road racer had he gone that route, and Jordan rarely gives undeserved compliments. McRae’s courage and curiosity saw him spin the F1 car, but put down some very impressive laps as well.

Other rally aces have tried their hand at road racing, and they’ve usually been tremendous. Walter Rohrl was a monster in the IMSA series, and Sebastien Loeb is no lame duck among his touring car peers. Keeping morale high among the F1 fans, Brundle looked at home with an armfull of opposite lock in the rally Impreza, with a pallid McRae biting his tongue in the passenger seat. The argument may never be settled, but it’s certain that at the top of the game, if you hand the keys to a professional racing driver, they’ll manage to extract everything the car has to offer.