Hundreds of Welsh rally fans gathered in Cardiff at 18:30 hrs (GMT) this evening to cheer their heroes off the start ramp for the Rally of Great Britain, the final and deciding round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship.

With temperatures hovering around 5 degrees, the crews headed from Cardiff to the opening super special stage, a 2.43 kilometre purpose-built sprint circuit in the heart of the city. Conditions may have been wet, despite the organisers’ tireless efforts to drain the sodden stage, but the capacity crowd of 20,000 were treated to spectacular flood-lit action as the world’s greatest rally drivers raced head-to-head around the Championship’s newest stage.

With the full specification of night lamps on their Lancer Evolution, the Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Tommi Makinen and Risto Mannisenmaki thrilled the crowd, drifting and sliding their car through the series of jumps and water-splashes. With less than a handful of seconds separating all the leading crews, the Finns start tomorrow’s first full leg of competition just 4.3 seconds adrift of overnight leader, Subaru’s Juha Kankkunen.

"The stage was fun for the crowds", commented Tommi. "There were a lot of stones being thrown up by Delecour’s car and the windscreen cracked during the stage, so the team will have to replace that this evening", added the Finn.

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

Team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets, competing against SEAT’s young Finnish driver Toni Gardemeister, won their heat in the Carisma GT by a mere two-tenths of a second to hold equal 10th position going into the forestry stages on Friday.

"No problems in there at all, the real action starts tomorrow", commented Freddy.

Mitsubishi Motors driver Manfred Stohl has taken an early lead in the Group N production car category. Stohl is just one Championship point ahead of defending World Champion Gustavo Trelles, who drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and the stage is set for a thrilling contest between the two. If a Mitsubishi driver wins, he will ensure that Mitsubishi has a remarkable unbeaten record in Group N this season.

Manfred Stohl, who drives a Carisma GT, has more experience of the rally than his great Championship rival Trelles, but although he has the upper hand, he is not sure that it will make much of a difference.

"Of course, I know this rally a bit better than Gustavo, but the important thing is to be competing at the top level - I can win rallies where I cannot remember the roads. You do not need to know the road so much and I am sure he can do well. We will just try our best," Stohl said.

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