Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen maintained his fourth position during today’s second leg of the Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava, the fifth round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship. The Finn pushed the competition hard in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, but the pace at the head of the leaderboard has been fierce and the four-times World Rally Champion is now 35 seconds adrift of Ford driver Colin McRae after losing the brakes in the final stage. Carisma GT team-mate Freddy Loix has moved up the leaderboard to hold eighth. Mitsubishi Motors’ drivers have also taken control of the prestigious Group N production car category with Lancer Evolution driver Uwe Nittel leading the way from four-times World Champion Gustavo Trelles.

Today’s route has taken the contenders to the southwest of Barcelona and the Tarragona region, where not only are the stages much longer but also considerably more abrasive. It has been a daunting day with 17 hours behind the wheel, making this the longest day of a European World Rally Championship event since 1983. Improved weather conditions have also ensured the fanatical Spaniards have again flocked to the stages in their thousands to witness the high-speed action in the mountains.

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

The all-Finnish crew of Makinen and Mannisenmaki have had a trouble-free run, the Lancer Evolution never missing a beat over the five special stages and 181 competitive kilometres until the final five kilometres when they lost the brakes. Fastest time in the second stage underlined their determination to fight for victory, but Makinen, suffering from flu, admits to not being in his usual perfect shape.

"On these long stages I don’t have my best touch, because of the cold", he said. "But we have had a good day and Michelin’s harder compound tyres have really suited today’s drier and rougher stages. We have had to drive flat-out everywhere because the pace is so fast and it was all very close before we had a problem in the last stage. Ten kilometres before the end the brakes started to go, like there was a small leak, and then after another five kilometres we lost them completely. We dropped maybe 15 seconds so it will make our job much harder tomorrow, but we will try. It is still possible to win, but we have to see what the other cars do and we also need a little luck".

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets started the day in 12th position, but immediately powered up the leaderboard into ninth within one stage. Fourth fastest in the second stage of the day, behind Makinen, Subaru’s Richard Burns and local hero and Ford driver Carlos Sainz rewarded them with eighth position. They have had throttle and brake problems on the Carisma GT during the day, but return to Lloret de Mar this evening with a 17 second advantage over former World Rally Champion Didier Auriol (SEAT).

"The throttle problem was quickly repaired by the team but in the first stage when it stuck open, there was obviously a big strain on the brakes and they were completely destroyed by the end. We also had another problem with the brakes which was just like Portugal", commented Freddy. "A fluid pipe to the caliper worked loose and we had to stop, take the wheel off and fix it before starting stage 9, which incurred us a time penalty. We will continue to push hard, but the weather is looking unpredictable tomorrow, so we will have to see what happens".

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr.N U. Nittel / D. Ruf