The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets upheld Mitsubishi honours by finishing the Rally of Cyprus - the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship - in fifth position. Team-mates Katsuhiko Taguchi/Derek Ringer suffered huge disappointment when they were forced to retire in stage 20 after an impressive performance and a potential top ten finish.

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

In a thrilling battle to the end, no fewer than three drivers were in with a chance of victory, however Britain’s Colin McRae powered his Ford Focus to a second successive victory, moving him up the Championship leaderboard into third position. Despite retiring from the event, Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen maintains his lead in the FIA World Rally Championship, such was his advantage, however, despite Freddy’s three points, Mitsubishi slips to second in the manufacturers’ series, trailing Ford by just three points.

Mitsubishi Motors drivers claimed yet another victory in the Group N production category with Uruguay’s Gustavo Trelles leading the way in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. It is Mitsubishi’s 21st consecutive triumph in the production car class at World Championship level.

The final leg of the event started from the coastal holiday resort of Limassol at 08:00 hrs for the closing 97 kilometres of competition. While the shortest of the three legs, today’s rough and rocky roads to the north-east of the host town posed no less of a challenge, and cruising to the finish was never an option for any of the remaining 35 crews. The roads, winding their way through the Troodos Mountains, were littered with thousands of spectators, none of whom were deterred by the choking dust, rocks and stones thrown up by the cars, but all of whom were thrilled by the world-class rally action that concluded back on the seafront in Limassol this afternoon.

The Mitsubishi Carisma GT crew of Loix and Smeets started on a charge from the outset and leading stage times enabled them to slash the deficit to Subaru’s Toshi Arai. With the retirement of Peugeot’s World Champion Marcus Gronholm, the pair moved up into fifth but could simply push no harder as a balance between speed and tyre durability was imperative.

"I’m very happy with fifth but disappointed to have lost so much time yesterday", said Freddy. "This afternoon we were trying quite a bit but with the rough conditions it was impossible to push too hard. We could have gone quicker on individual stages and perhaps got a fastest time, but we were having to preserve the tyres. Still, we got some points on a very difficult rally, but we still have some work to do for the Acropolis and Kenya".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart K. Taguchi / D. Ringer

Team-mates Katsuhiko Taguchi and 1995 World Champion co-driver Derek Ringer held a fine 11th overall, second of the non-registered drivers, in the first rally Katsuhiko has contested in Europe. Following Gronholm’s retirement and a handful of top ten fastest times, the duo moved into an impressive 10th before the conditions took their toll on the Lancer’s suspension. Despite attempts at repairs in the stage, Katsuhiko was simply unable to continue.

"Obviously I’m bitterly disappointed, but these things can happen on a very rough rally", he said. "We hit a stone three kilometres before the end of stage 20 which damaged the suspension beyond repair and we had to park up. A top ten finish would have been fantastic, but I have learned a lot and must thank the team for all their help. It’s been a great experience".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Gr.N G. Trelles / J. del Buono

There were no last-minute alarms for Gustavo Trelles. The hugely capable four-times Group N World Champion had taken control of the event almost from the start and calmly made certain of victory in his Lancer Evolution.

"We had a nice big lead after the first day of the rally, so for the last two days there has not been so much pressure, but this is a hard rally just to finish and I am very happy with our result", Trelles commented.

Reigning Group N World Champion Manfred Stohl made sure of second position in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT, despite stopping to change a puncture on the first stage of the final leg. "I hoped we could maybe catch Gustavo today, so it was disappointing to get the puncture. Still, second place is not a bad result and it shows you must always keep trying", Stohl said.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution G. Trelles / J. del Buono