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Mitsubishi Motors celebrated its eighth victory in the Group N production class in as many rounds of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship, thanks to a brilliant performance from Mitsubishi Carisma GT driver Manfred Stohl. Fellow Mitsubishi drivers grabbed six of the top seven places in Group N, in another convincing display of the standard Mitsubishi’s performance and reliability. No fewer than three Mitsubishi drivers finished in the top 10 places overall, despite intense competition from much more highly modified rivals. Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen was forced into retirement this morning when he damaged the sub-frame too badly to continue safely.

The final day of the rally took competitors south of Auckland once more, to a mixture of smooth public roads winding through picturesque farmland and ultra-quick forest stages. Large crowds turned out on a windy and occasionally wet day to witness a thrilling finale, in which many of the leading positions remained in doubt until the very end.

Austria’s Stohl was locked in combat with Subaru driver Cody Crocker, but exploited his Mitsubishi Carisma GT to the full to secure a richly deserved victory by just 9.2 seconds after nearly 400 kilometres of flat-out competition. He retains his lead in the series and has a nine point lead over Mitsubishi’s four-times World Champion, Gustavo Trelles.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr.N M. Stohl / P. Muller

"I really wanted to win this rally. It has been a very tough event and a real battle with Crocker. It is good to win when you have a real fight and it gives us a safer lead in the World Championship. The car has been very good and the only problem was when I spun", Stohl declared.

Uruguay’s Gustavo Trelles recovered from a disappointing start in his Lancer Evolution to challenge the leaders and secure a useful third place in Group N, comfortably pulling away from his pursuers in the closing stages.

"This is always a good rally for me and I am pleased with the result. Of course, I would like to have been closer to Manfred, because he is the main opposition for the World Championship, but still we have scored some good points", Trelles said.

New Zealand drivers figured strongly on home soil, with former National Rally Champion Reece Jones taking the fight to the visitors by clinching an excellent fourth in the group in his Lancer Evolution. Fellow countryman and Ralliart New Zealand driver Chris West was fifth, while Uruguayan Gabriel Mendez completed the top six, both men also driving Lancer Evolutions. Ross Meekings, another Ralliart driver, was seventh.

In contrast, Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen, co-driven by Risto Mannisenmaki, was forced into retirement in the service area after the opening stage. The Finn lost the brakes on his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, hit a bank and damaged the sub-frame causing too much damage to continue safely.

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