Rallye Monte Carlo 2000
Wednesday 19 January
COMMUNIQUE 1

MITSUBISHI WELL PREPARED TO REPEAT
MONTE CARLO RALLY VICTORY

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart begins a new FIA World Rally Championship season seeking to repeat its 1999 victory on the Monte Carlo Rally. Defending World Champion Tommi Makinen is bursting with confidence in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and is sure of plenty of support from team-mate Freddy Loix, driving a Mitsubishi-Carisma GT.

The Monte Carlo Rally is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious rally in the World Championship, and arguably the most difficult. The 2000 event looks likely to be held in largely dry conditions, but there are still plenty of icy corners to catch out the unwary and they will be even more treacherous, given that the drivers expect to use racing-type tyres on most stages. Competition will be fierce, with no fewer than six factory teams taking part.

Thanks to the Lancer Evolution, Tommi Makinen has been World Champion for the past four years - an astonishingly good record - and the Finn, co-driven by fellow countryman Risto Mannisenmaki, believes he has an excellent chance of starting 2000 with another victory.

"We had a good break, but it’s nice to be back to work and I am looking forward to this rally. I am sure all the rallies at the beginning of the season are good for me. Tyres are so important on this rally, but we have done a lot of testing and Michelin has fantastic tyres for any sort of condition. I don’t mind if it is dry or if we have snow. Any conditions are good for me", Makinen said.

Belgians Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets aim to capitalise on the experience gained in 1999. The Carisma GT has been exceptionally reliable and Loix, who has covered thousands of kilometres in testing, is keen to build on the good results scored at the end of last season.

"I don’t mind what sort of weather we have. Snow would be good experience. I hope to finish somewhere in the top five. Of course I want to win, but we feel we’re missing a bit of experience of some of the stages after retiring early last year. I think the most difficult leg will be the second, with this 48-kilometre stage", Loix commented.

Mitsubishi also has a strong presence in the Group N production class, in which Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs are very much the cars to beat. The clear favourite is Mitsubishi&3146;s other four-times World Champion Gustavo Trelles, but the Uruguayan faces stern competition from the likes of Austria’s Manfred Stohl, Germany’s Uwe Nittel and Italians Andrea Maselli and Gianluigi Galli.

The rally begins on Thursday morning with a tough leg taking drivers from Monaco to Gap, high in the French Alps. It covers 385 kilometres, with five stages making up 112 kilometres.