The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crews of Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki and Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets returned to Villa Carlos Paz this evening in fourth and eighth positions respectively at the end of leg one of Rally Argentina. Britain’s Colin McRae has swept into an impressive 41 second lead in his Ford Focus, but Subaru’s Richard Burns, Carlos Sainz in the second Focus and Makinen are all in a furious fight for second position.

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

Mitsubishi Motors drivers also hold three of the top four places in the Group N production class. Argentina’s Gabriel Pozzo has an impressive lead over former Group N World Champion Gustavo Trelles, both men driving Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions.

After last night’s floodlit super special stages, the action began in earnest today as the 65 competing crews headed north to the stages based around La Cumbre. Damp and foggy conditions greeted them, but the weather did little to deter the enthusiasm of the thousands of fanatical spectators who poured into the stages and service park. While the level of retirement has been restricted to 10 competitors, many of the leading crews have experienced problems. Ford driver Francois Delecour rolled in the opening stage of the day, Alister McRae has suffered with intermittent engine problems in his Hyundai and Swedish Rally winner Harri Rovanpera was forced to retire his Peugeot with suspension failure.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver Tommi Makinen was on a charge from the outset however, the Finn eager to notch up his third victory of the season and fourth win in Argentina. Consistent top six stage times elevated him to equal second this morning from his overnight ninth, but he is jockeying for position in a heated battle with both Burns and Sainz, the trio split by just 19 seconds at the end of the leg.

"Today has been good, but I think it’s not been the best position to be first car on the road and we have to go faster tomorrow", commented Tommi. "We had a big moment on stage six, one kilometre from the flying finish", he added. "There was a spectator standing on the racing line as I was flat out in sixth gear and we slid wide, hit a bank and the car went up onto the front wheels as the rear kicked up. We were lucky not to roll. I can’t believe Colin’s speed and his times, but I think maybe he has had the best of the conditions further down the field. Hopefully with three cars cleaning the road ahead of us tomorrow, things will be better".

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

Team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have maintained a consistent pace, although Loix admits to not settling into a good rhythm over today’s dry and dusty gravel stages. He too has fallen victim to difficult conditions, tipping his Mitsubishi Carisma GT over on a slow corner in stage 7 and losing a minute. They nevertheless hold eighth position at the end of eight stages and 150 competitive kilometres.

"My feeling has been very good, but I’m a little bit disappointed that our times are not really there compared to the other drivers", said Freddy. "We lost time in stage 7 as well when we hit a small rut on a slow hairpin right and the car did one complete roll. It was annoying and a stupid mistake, so we must try again tomorrow".

Even Gabriel Pozzo didn’t have an entirely trouble-free run in his Group N Lancer Evolution, but he soon recovered from a minor electrical problem to build up a useful advantage over Gustavo Trelles after eight stages. He is not far behind the much more highly modified World Rally Cars.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N G. Pozzo / D. Stillo