The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crews of Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki and Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets set fastest times on four of the eight stages during the second leg of the Rally of Cyprus. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Carisma GT drivers now hold 6th and 8th positions respectively going into the final day of competition in this, the 10th round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship.

Mitsubishi Motors’ drivers hold the top seven places in Group N. Uruguayan Gustavo Trelles leads fellow South Americans Gabriel Pozzo and Claudio Menzi, all three driving Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions.

Up in the Troodos mountains of the Kommandaria region, about 100 kilometres northwest of Limassol, temperatures have rocketed into the high thirties with the heat in the cockpits again topping more than 50 degrees, draining energy and power from both the crews and cars. Rough roads - some deeply rutted from being run for a second or third time - have demanded care and attention, and tyre wear has been critical during today’s 114.50 competitive kilometres.

Four-times World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen has been fighting hard. The Finn recorded his first fastest time of the event on stage 11 but lost power later in the afternoon when the extreme temperature and altitude took its toll on his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. In the penultimate stage of the leg, Makinen again pipped his rivals to the finish line, notching up Mitsubishi’s fourth fastest time of the day. Amazingly, no fewer than six different drivers set fastest times in the last six stages, with only Makinen and Loix taking more than one victory apiece.

"It’s been quite a good day for me, except on the long stage (SS14) and the one before where we had some engine problems and were down on power", commented Tommi. "But nothing else, everything was working well. Conditions have been quite difficult in places and tomorrow we will try to improve, but we also have to watch what else happens. For Freddy it seems that he is driving very well and it is a good rally for him. I’m very happy to see him with some good speeds".

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

Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have put in a sensational performance, the Belgian pairing also claiming two outright stage victories in their Mitsubishi Carisma GT. Freddy, who is still only in his second full season in the World Rally Championship, last set a fastest time on the Acropolis Rally in 1998 and is demonstrating that, when on a level playing field with all his rivals, he can more than match their performance. To underline his competitiveness on his first visit to Cyprus, Freddy has only twice been out of the top four on the stages today and, while he has climbed up the leaderboard, 8th position does not reflect what has been a faultless and impressive drive.

"It’s been the best day for me in a long while and I’m very pleased to get two scratch times and have consistent speed", said Freddy. "We had a traction problem on the last couple of stages which I hope we can fix at the final service tonight, and for sure we’ll try and improve our position tomorrow. It seems the testing work we did after the shakedown has really paid off".

Adding to his drivers’ comments, team director Andrew Cowan said: "Today has been an excellent day and we’re especially pleased with Freddy’s performance. We had four fastest times and on every stage we had one of the cars in the top three, so we’re delighted with that. The cars are in good order, we still have places to chase and will be keeping the pressure on".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N G. Trelles / J. del Buono