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Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart is aiming to capitalise on its good start to the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship with victory
on Kenya’s Safari Rally. It has a strong two-car entry, consisting of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution for World Rally
Champion Tommi Makinen and a Mitsubishi Carisma GT for Belgium’s Freddy Loix. It also stands every chance of victory in
the prestigious Group N production category.
Going into the third round of the series, Mitsubishi dominates in both the categories. Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver
Tommi Makinen heads the World Rally Championship contenders having notched up first and second respectively in Monte Carlo
and Sweden. And, in the Manufacturers’ Championship, Mitsubishi already has a 7-point advantage over its nearest rival
after just two of the fourteen rounds. In Group N, Mitsubishi machinery is in a class of its own and again took all the
leading positions in Sweden. Austrian Manfred Stohl took fourth place and thereby extended his lead in the Group N World
Championship and starts Kenya as group favourite.
The Safari is universally regarded as the toughest World Championship rally of all. Africa’s round of the series is the
only major event still run on roads open to other traffic and it covers greater distances at higher speeds than any other
event. Exceptionally rough roads and high temperatures make it a gruelling test of reliability as well as performance and
have contributed to the rally’s legendary status. It has an enormous following in Kenya and worldwide.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
Tommi Makinen
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World Championship leader Tommi Makinen sensationally won the Safari at his first attempt in 1996 and with co-driver Risto
Mannisenmaki, he reckons the Michelin-equipped Lancer Evolution has every chance of providing him with a victory that would
put him on course for another world title.
"I understand that the conditions are quite rough this year, but I am not worried about that. Our test team has worked
on the suspension, which was good anyway and it should be even better. I think the big question is the tyres. It’s a
lot of strain for them when it is so rough and hot, so you have to drive a bit carefully. In the end, the Safari is a bit of
a lottery and you never know what can happen", Makinen stated.
Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have finished their last five rallies, but the Carisma GT crew will be more than usually keen to
extend that sequence when they go to the Safari, as Loix was badly injured in an accident last year.
Mitsubishi Carisma GT
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
Freddy Loix
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"Everyone knows the Safari is a very difficult rally and it’s not like anywhere else. I am not worried about
having another accident there - I am fully fit now and ready to go. I just want to finish it and score some points, like any
other rally. I think if we don’t have any problems, it should be possible to get a good result", Loix commented.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs customarily dominate the Group N production class at World Championship level
and, although there will be plenty of tough opposition in Kenya, Mitsubishi is entitled to hope for further success. The
Group N favourites will be Austrians Manfred Stohl and Peter Muller in a Lancer Evolution. Manfred’s father Rudi was a
keen Safari competitor and Manfred himself began rallying in Africa when barely out of his teens. He therefore has plenty of
useful experience and he will be hard to beat. There is a strong South American contingent taking part as well, with
Argentineans Claudio Menzi and Gabriel Pozzo both driving Lancer Evolutions. While they are new to the Safari, they know all
about rallying on rough roads.
The rally runs from February 24-27 and covers 2,691 kilometres, with 1,061 kilometres of competitive sections. All three
legs will start and finish in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The competitive distance is evenly split between the three
legs, with 350 competitive kilometres split between four competitive sections in the identical first and third legs, south
of Nairobi. The second leg, well to the north and west, provides a fractionally greater competitive distance, spanning 359
kilometres, and it includes the longest competitive section of 123 kilometres.
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