Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart T. Makinen / R. Mannisenmaki (Photo: at '00 Rally Argeintina)

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart has high hopes of winning the Acropolis Rally, the seventh round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship. With four-times World Champion Tommi Makinen, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and talented Belgian Freddy Loix in a Mitsubishi Carisma GT, the team will be amongst the favourites for the ultra-demanding rally.

The Greek round of the World Championship is widely regarded as the roughest, toughest rally in Europe and it is one of the few major rallies that the Mitsubishi team has not won. Although Makinen finished a fighting third last year, one place in front of team-mate Loix, it is an event on which the Flying Finn is due for a change of luck. That is certainly a key requirement for Acropolis success. The rally takes place in one of the most picturesque settings of any World Championship rally, with the start ramp at the foot of the Acropolis rock itself, with the Parthenon, one of the great monuments of antiquity, in the background. All the competitors face a tough task against the combined Greek heat and dust on some of the most destructive stages in the whole Championship.

Tommi Makinen and fellow-Finn Risto Mannisenmaki hold third place in the World Championship as it nears the halfway mark and are eager to score their first Acropolis victory in the Lancer Evolution. They will be working closely with tyre partner Michelin to achieve the best result.

"The Acropolis is one of the hardest rallies, because the stages can be so rough and the heat makes it hard for the engines. It is not one of my lucky rallies, so I hope this year can be better. Our Mitsubishi car is strong and reliable and that is very important in Greece. We still want to win the World Championship, and we still can. But it is important to get some good results", Makinen stated.

Belgian Carisma GT crew Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have a fine Acropolis record and Loix is looking forward to building on a solid start to the season. He is well aware that good judgement counts just as much in Greece as pure speed.

"It's not so important to know the stages. It's more important to know where to go quick and where to watch out a little bit. You have to wait: sometimes you can be sixth or seventh and then a few stages later, you can be third or fourth. It can change so quickly, but you need some luck", Loix said. "We had a good test in April and we are both confident of a good finish."

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart F. Loix / S. Smeets (Photo: at '00 Rally Argentina)

"The organisers have assured us that the roads will be smoother this year, but let's be clear about it, there's no such thing as a smooth Acropolis. The stages in the first leg this time were very rough last year and that will cause problems, whereas legs two and three are more of a known quantity. But I am concerned about double usage of the stages which will make it tough", said Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Phil Short.

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart has carried out some valuable testing and, while the Lancer Evolution and Carisma GT are in much the same specification as they were in Argentina, there are significant changes. Chief Engineer Bernard Lindauer is planning to run a higher ride height and to use a greater number of reinforced parts. Both cars will have stronger suspension components and more underbody protection. As the Acropolis is so hard on tyres the teams are allowed to carry up to two spare wheels and tyres.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Carisma GT drivers have an enviable unbeaten record in the Group N production category in the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship. But although they are the clear favourites to maintain that record on the seventh round, the Acropolis Rally is so rough that success can never be taken for granted, even with drivers such as Manfred Stohl and Gustavo Trelles at the wheel.

Greece makes the perfect holiday destination, but while hot sunshine and the nearby Mediterranean appeal to holidaymakers, the weather and the terrain combine to offer a daunting challenge to the rally driver. Heat and dust make the event exceptionally demanding, the heat posing a particular strain on engines, while the twisty, mountainous stages are rough and strewn with rocks and there is invariably a high retirement rate.

Austria's Manfred Stohl continues to lead the Group N World Championship in his Carisma GT after making a strong start to the season, but he is eager to score another win in response to arch-rival Gustavo Trelles's Argentine victory.

"We were not lucky in Argentina and Gustavo is not so far behind. I want to win, but in Greece you must always drive to finish as well, because the stages are so rough. It is one of the most difficult rallies", Stohl said.

Uruguayan Gustavo Trelles has been Group N World Champion with Mitsubishi for the past four years - a truly phenomenal record - and knows exactly what it takes to win on the Acropolis.

"This is one of the toughest rallies in the World Championship. There are so many rocks. You have to look after the car, because otherwise you have no chance. Anything can happen on this rally and you can never be sure of a result until the finish", Trelles stated.

Although Stohl and Trelles are the favourites, the wins have been evenly divided this year and there are plenty of other drivers in Lancer Evolutioins and Carisma GTs with a good chance of victory. Germany's Uwe Nittel was a clear winner on the Catalunya Rally and has wide-ranging experience in all kinds of conditions, while Argentina's Claudio Menzi took the Group N prize on the Safari and proved that he is more than capable of succeeding on the roughest rallies.

Other likely front runners include talented Peruvian Ramon Ferreyros, Uruguay's Gabriel Mendez and another promising Argentine driver, Gabriel Pozzo, who led much of the way on home soil last month. All three drive Mitsubishis and once again, their strength and performance makes Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs the most popular cars. There are no fewer than 20 entered in Group N in an entry of 120 cars.

The rally runs from June 9-11 and covers 1,407 kilometres, of which 403 kilometres are special stages, divided into a total of 19 tests. Although the rally starts in Athens at the foot of the Acropolis it is based in Itea on the west coast for the first time, not far from Delphi. The first leg runs closest to Athens and is the shortest in terms of stage distance, with five tests totalling 102 kilometres, but it could easily be the roughest. The second leg is the longest, taking crews into the mountains of central Greece and offering 159 stage kilometres, while the third is essentially similar, but provides a couple of new stages as well in a total competitive distance of 141 kilometres. As some of the longest stages are being held in the last leg, the result may be in doubt until the very end.