The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crews of Tommi Makinen/Timo Hantunen and Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets lie sixth and ninth at the conclusion of the opening leg of Rally Australia, the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
T. Makinen / T. Hantunen
|
Mitsubishi Motors drivers however hold the top three places in the Group N production category, their domination established on the opening super special last night when Manfred Stohl took the early lead. Australia’s Ed Ordynski now leads the way in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, with Finn Juha Kangas second in a Mitsubishi Carisma GT and Argentina’s Gabriel Pozzo third in another Lancer Evolution.
Today’s first full forestry leg took the 73 contenders to eight stages based around the town of Mundaring, 50 kilometres to the north-east of Perth, before returning to the city for the final stage of the day, the flood-lit Langley Park super special. Narrow tree-lined stages, awash with loose gravel, characterise this event and for the Championship leaders - who had the benefit of choosing their running position - the advantage was marked over the dry and dusty roads. Warm conditions again greeted the crews and, with the temperatures soaring to 30 degrees throughout the day, the combination of searing heat and the longest leg of the event will undoubtedly have taken its toll on many.
For Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC driver Tommi Makinen, the day has been draining, the Finn suffering with intense muscular pain in his back, a result of his accident in Corsica just two weeks ago. Even so, Tommi has fought the pain and, with help from his physiotherapist, has maintained a competitive pace, even with a new co-driver, in what is turning into one of the closest fought events this season. At the head of the leaderboard, just 5.3 seconds separates the top four crews, but both Makinen and team-mate Loix are encouraged by the performance of the Lancer Evolution WRCs debut on gravel.
"The problem with my back has obviously slowed us down and we’ve also had some difficulties with the notes and getting the system working properly", said Tommi. "Other than that, things have been okay, the car has been fine and we still have a lot to fight for, so we must push hard".
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
F. Loix / S. Smeets
|
Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets, piloting the second Lancer Evolution WRC, have suffered throughout the day from a disadvantageous road position, the Belgians starting fourth and, as a consequence, cleaning much of the loose gravel for the following crews. However, a good feeling with the car and a positive attitude has enabled them to move from 15th to ninth position with two days of competition remaining and everything to fight for.
"I have a very good feeling in the car, it’s definitely more competitive on gravel", said Freddy, "and it feels much better than the Group A car. Running so high up the field the level of grip has been very changeable - one minute it’s good and the next it’s non-existent. Sometimes you can see some good lines when you are braking for a corner, but then when you get into the corner all the cars have taken different lines so it’s pretty slippy. I feel like I’m driving well, but it’s difficult to build the speed because five corners can be okay and then the sixth one you lose grip and speed, and have to build it up again".
Group N contender Ed Ordynski has an unrivalled record on his home round of the World Championship, with seven category wins to his name, all for Mitsubishi. He shows every sign of taking an eighth in his Lancer Evolution.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N
E. Ordynski / I. Stewart
|
"We had a great battle with Manfred Stohl to start with and were level on a couple of stages, but he’s dropped back a bit now and we’ve got a bit of breathing space", Ordynski commented.
Talented Finn Juha Kangas has climbed to second on his first attempt at Rally Australia. He admits that while his Carisma GT has given no problems, he has found it difficult to get the measure of this tricky event.
"We have slid wide on a few corners and our pace notes are not always quite right. It is not easy to come here for the first time, but I think our position is not so bad", Kangas said.
Newly crowned Group N World Champion Gabriel Pozzo is third, in spite of sliding wide in fifth gear and hitting a tree on SS5, although it didn’t do much damage to the rugged Lancer Evolution.
"It wasn’t a big problem. The rally is going well for us, but we have a new pace note system and it is like doing a new rally", Pozzo said.
Mitsubishi drivers hold most of the places on the leaderboard. Promising Belgian Francois Duval is fourth, with Finn Markko Ipatti sixth and Austria’s Manfred Stohl seventh, all in Carisma GTs.
Just prior to the start of the super special stage this evening, the manufacturer entered crews were again permitted to chose their starting positions for leg two, the highest placed drivers taking first choice. As a consequence, Makinen and Loix will run 10th and 7th respectively (subject to official confirmation) on the road during Saturday’s route, which takes the contenders over seven special stages - six based around the town of Harvey, 150 kilometres to the south, and one back at Langley Park.
![[ENTRANCE]](img/go_entrance2.gif){kind=small}
![[TOP PAGE]](img/mitsubishi.gif)