MITSUBISHI MOTORS/2000 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

MMC Rally Argentina 2000
Wednesday 10 May
COMMUNIQUE 1

MITSUBISHI BIDS FOR OUTRIGHT VICTORIES

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
T. Makinen / R. Mannisenmaki

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart has an unrivalled recent record on Rally Argentina, the sixth round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship, and World Champion Tommi Makinen, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, will be one of the hot favourites having taken victory on three of his last four attempts. He can expect strong support from Belgian team-mate Freddy Loix, driving a Mitsubishi Carisma GT. Mitsubishi Motors also has an amazing unbeaten record in the Group N production class in the 2000 FIA World Rally championship and, with almost all the leading world title contenders present, there are high hopes of yet more success for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Mitsubishi Carisma GT.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
T. Makinen / R. Mannisenmaki

South America’s only round of the World Rally Championship is regularly one of the highlights of the season. It invariably provides dramatic competition that keeps millions of fans seething with excitement as they throng the fast, often rough stages around the bustling city of Cordoba, 600 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires. Drivers regard it as one of the most demanding rallies on the calendar and openly predict that this year’s event will remain in the balance until the very end, as the roughest stages are held in the last leg over a mountain range in the foothills of the Andes that soar to some 2,000 metres. In fact, last year’s rally was the closest in the event’s 20-year history. Despite recent wet weather, unseasonably warm temperatures and blue skies greeted the crews today as they finished their final preparations at the official shakedown test at the purpose-built circuit just outside the holiday resort of Villa Carlos Paz.

Tommi Makinen, co-driven by fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki, has won the rally three times in four attempts and is quietly confident that his Michelin-equipped Lancer Evolution gives him every chance of improving that extraordinary record. "The stages are in very, very nice condition - better than in previous years - although the last leg is still rough. The car is not so different compared to Portugal, but it has always been very good here and I am sure we have a good chance. I feel much better now after my operation, so I think we can make it a good week for Mitsubishi!" Makinen promised.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
F. Loix / S. Smeets

Belgians Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets had a tough time on their first visit to Argentina 12 months ago, but Loix feels much more confident as he faces this year’s rally and is eager to do justice to the well-proven Carisma GT. "Compared to last year’s recce, it was like night and day. There was no fog this time, so we have been able to change a lot of notes and we have made new ones in places. We got mixed conditions during our test here, which was useful, so I am looking forward to the event this time. We will be aiming for a finish in the points", Loix commented.

The natural Group N favourite is 1999 victor and four-times World Champion Gustavo Trelles, driving a Lancer Evolution. Uruguayan Trelles has massive experience of competing in Argentina and with local co-driver Jorge Del Buono, he will be a tough man to beat.

"For me, driving here is almost like being at home. They are difficult stages and it is important to look after the car as well as driving quickly, but I hope we can win and it would be a big help in the championship if we are going to catch Manfred Stohl", Trelles remarked during his final preparations at the shakedown test today.

Austria’s Stohl has been a consistent pacesetter all season and, while he is naturally eager to beat the South Americans on home soil, he is well aware that it is important to bring his Carisma GT to the finish.

"I know this rally quite well and I like the stages. It would be fantastic to win here, but I also know that it is important to finish for the Championship. That’s one of the lessons I have learned from Gustavo!" Stohl commented.

Both men will need to keep an eye on Argentina’s new hero Claudio Menzi, who took a sensational Group N victory on the Safari Rally in his Lancer Evolution. Back on home soil, Menzi will be under more pressure, but he will also be taking part in a World Championship rally he knows for the first time this season, making the young star a potential winner.

Other Mitsubishi men to watch include Germany’s Uwe Nittel - the winner in Catalunya - Argentineans Gabriel Raies and Gabriel Mendez, Italian Champion Andrea Aghini and Peru’s Ramon Ferreyros.

The rally commences on Thursday evening with two runs at a spectacular super-special in Villa Carlos Paz, not far from Cordoba. The stage is tricky and by no means a formality, but the rally begins in earnest on Friday morning with another seven stages in the hills north of Cordoba. In total, the first leg includes 133 kilometres of stages, with the longest, 28-kilometre stage of the rally amongst them.

MICHELIN - NIPPON MITSUBISHI OIL - ENKEI - NGK - OHLINS - OMP
PIAA - PELTOR - BELLEROSE - SABELT - SCOTT USA