Another thing worth mentioning is that while Toyota's ban effectively ended up sidelining Kankkunen and Auriol from battling for the 1996-1997 World Championships, it also messed up Carlos Sainz. He wasn't happy at Subaru and had signed a three year contract to join Toyota from 1996, but Toyota's ban forced him to join Ford instead, delaying the reunion with Toyota until 1998. Kankkunen had a contract with Toyota for 1996 also, but I'm not sure about Auriol. Kankkunen-Sainz-Auriol would have been quite a dream team to go up against Mäkinen and McRae. In retrospect, Sainz had a great 1996 with a clear car disadvantage compared to Mäkinen and McRae.