Safari Rally 2000
Sunday 27 February
COMMUNIQUE 4

MITSUBISHI DOMINATES GROUP N ON SAFARI RALLY
AS MAKINEN RETAINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver Claudio Menzi celebrated his first rally outside Argentina with a brilliant Group N production class win on Kenya’s ultra-tough Safari Rally, while Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen maintained his lead in the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

The third and final leg of the only World Championship rally held in Africa took the same route as the first leg, racing through Masai villages, across low hills and dusty plains to the south of Nairobi, but the four competitive sections were if anything even more testing. They were rougher, because they had been used already, and the heat was even fiercer thanks to relentless sunshine and very little breeze. Weary competitors were generally content to nurse battle-scarred machinery to the finish of the most arduous event in the World Rally Championship.

Claudio Menzi and Edgardo Galindo made superb use of their Lancer Evolution to force their way ahead of much more experienced rivals and build up a handsome Group N lead from the start of the rally. They were comfortably ahead of fellow Argentine Roberto Sanchez by the start of the last day and paced themselves perfectly through the last leg to score a richly deserved victory.

"I have never done such a difficult rally, so this is a fantastic result for us. We thought if we were careful it was possible to finish maybe in the top three, but to win is just unbelievable. The car has been very good and I must thank my team for making it so strong. I only wish every rally I did went so well!", Menzi said.

Austria’s Manfred Stohl, co-driven by Peter Muller, drove a well-judged rally to make sure of third in his Carisma GT. It was his third consecutive finish this season - a fine demonstration of the Carisma’s reliability - and he was rewarded with a bigger lead in the Group N World Championship.

"Winning the World Championship is my target this year and I have learnt that it is important to make sure you score points even if you don’t win. You need some luck on the Safari of course and I am very pleased with this result", he stated.

This year’s Safari Rally has seen an incredible rate of attrition and, of the 51 crews who were flagged off the start ramp by Kenya’s Vice-President George Saitoti on Friday, less than 17 returned to Nairobi this afternoon. Dry, rutted and rocky roads took their toll, not only on Makinen and team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets, but also the Peugeot crews of Marcus Gronholm and Gilles Panizzi, as well as claiming Focus driver, Colin McRae and SEAT’s Toni Gardemeister.

Commenting after the rally, Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Phil Short said: "Obviously we are disappointed not to have achieved a good result here, but our excellent start to the season means we are still very much in contention for both Championships, especially with Tommi leading. The next two events in Europe are more typical of the whole series, and we are confident from our testing for both gravel and tarmac that we can give a very good account of ourselves with both Tommi and Freddy".

In three weeks time, the FIA World Rally Championship contenders head to Porto, the base for the Rally of Portugal (16-19 March). This is the first true gravel event of the season and, as such, viewed by many as a real indication of competitiveness. All seven registered manufacturers will be competing and competition will be fierce. However, after a successful test session carried out by both Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crews, the team is confident of claiming victory in this, the fourth of the 14-round Championship.

"The test was very important to find the ideal gravel set-up", said Makinen. "We worked hard with the rear electronic diff to improve the car’s behaviour and balance on this type of terrain. This way, we learnt from the problems we had last year in Portugal and I am hoping to have a fast car to fight for the win, both here and in the other gravel events".

Tommi Makinen last won the event in 1997 in the Lancer Evolution, while team-mate Freddy Loix has finished on the podium no less than three times (1996, 1997, and 1998).

FINAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION