Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart drivers Tommi Makinen, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and Freddy Loix, driving a Mitsubishi Carisma GT, are amongst the favourites to win the seventh round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship, the Acropolis Rally, which starts on 9 June. Mitsubishi Motors will also be aiming for a remarkable seventh victory in a row in the Group N production car class. Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs have an unbeaten record this season and, with drivers of the caliber of Manfred Stohl and Gustavo Trelles at the wheel, Mitsubishi can be confident of more honours.
The Greek event is traditionally one of the toughest rallies in the World Championship and the 2000 event - the 47th - seems likely to live up to its reputation of being the most demanding rally in Europe. Although the rally is based in the idyllic setting of the port of Itea, with the Adriatic Sea lapping a few metres from the service area, the winding, boulder-strewn mountain roads of central Greece offer a much more hostile reception. They are exceptionally rough and hard on tyres as well. Searing summer heat adds to the challenge, stretching engines to the limit and placing extra emphasis on the fitness of the crew. The forecast is that temperatures could reach 38-40 degrees during the weekend and it could well become a rally of attrition.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
T. Makinen with engineer B. Lindauer
|
Strangely, the Acropolis remains one of the few rallies that four-times World Champion Tommi Makinen and fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki have never won, although they have plenty of good results to their credit in the Michelin-equipped Lancer Evolution. Hungry for success, Makinen took chief engineer Bernard Lindauer for a ride over Wednesday’s shakedown stage to refine the Lancer Evolution still further.
"It is a rally I have never won before, so I would like very much to win it this time! The stages are not quite so rough this year and we have some new front suspension that is just what I asked for, so I am feeling quite good about it. I think the position on the road will be quite important, because there is some gravel, which makes it slippery for the first car, so you must plan carefully", Makinen stated.
Belgian team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have consistently performed well on the Acropolis and the Carisma GT crew are confident that they can put in another strong performance on the gruelling Greek event.
"It’s not much smoother than last year and it is definitely still an Acropolis Rally, but they have taken out one of the roughest stages. It’s always difficult here: sometimes you can be seventh and then suddenly you are up to third or fourth, because other people have problems, but it can happen the other way round too", Loix warned.
Mitsubishi Carisma GT
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
F. Loix / S. Smeets
|
Superb weather and beautiful scenery make Greece a popular holiday destination, but to the rally driver, the Acropolis is always hard work. Long regarded as one of the most testing and most prestigious rallies in the world, it is a particularly searching test of near-standard Group N cars, as the stages are notoriously rough and littered with rocks. Only the best cars will survive.
Talented Austrian Manfred Stohl is leading the Group N World Rally Championship and understands precisely what the Acropolis demands. He is sure to be one of the leading contenders for victory in his Lancer Evolution.
"The Acropolis is always a really difficult rally and you are always glad just to finish it. You have to be so careful to avoid the big rocks and try not to get punctures, but it can be very satisfying if you do well. To win the championship, we need to keep finishing rallies, so it is important to get a result here", Stohl declared.
One of his main rivals is sure to be vastly experienced Uruguayan Gustavo Trelles, who has been Group N World Champion for the past four years with Mitsubishi. Quick and consistent, Trelles knows just how to make the most of the rugged Lancer Evolution’s exceptional performance.
"Winning in Argentina has put us in a much stronger position for the World Championship. The Acropolis is never easy and you cannot attack too much, but I think we have a good chance to win", Trelles said.
The top Group N starter will be Germany’s Uwe Nittel, driving a Carisma GT and, as he showed by winning in Catalunya, he is one of the leading contenders for the World Championship.
A particularly strong South American contingent - all in Mitsubishis - stand a strong chance of success. Apart from Trelles, it includes gifted Peruvian Ramon Ferreyros, Safari-winning sensation Claudio Menzi, fellow Argentine Gabriel Pozzo and Uruguay’s Gabriel Mendez. Belgium’s Bob Colsoul could also feature strongly.
After the traditional start in Athens on 9 June, just beneath the Acropolis, the first leg heads north to Itea and includes five stages, covering 102 kilometres.
![[ENTRANCE]](img/go_entrance2.gif){kind=small}
![[TOP PAGE]](img/mitsubishi.gif)