Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart drivers Freddy Loix and Toni Gardemeister head the team assault in Finland, following the early retirement of four-times World Champion and five-times Rally Finland winner, Tommi Makinen. Mitsubishi Motors drivers have however taken command of the Group N production car class and it is no surprise that Finnish drivers have been setting the pace in the first leg, with Jouko Puhakka leading his fellow Mitsubishi Carisma GT driver Juha Salo. Mitsubishi drivers hold the four leading positions in the category.

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

A record entry of 160 cars left Jyvaskyla this morning, huge crowds enjoying the warm and sunny conditions as they cheered the world’s top rally drivers over the start ramp in the city centre. Finland, the home of rallying, always provides spectacular action, the cars rarely having all four wheels touching the ground as they fly over the endless sequence of stomach-churning jumps on the fast gravel stages. And, despite it being widely acknowledged that the local crews have an advantage on roads they have driven all their lives, surprising only four Finns hold positions in the top 10 and Richard Burns leads for Britain.

Tommi Makinen, who was vying for his sixth Rally Finland win, fourth victory of the season and the honour of claiming the 24th and record-breaking number of World Championship rally wins, was the first to hit the retirement list. Underlining the fact that even the most accomplished driver can get caught out, the Finn hit a tree stump and broke the Lancer Evolution’s front left suspension in the first stage.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart T. Gardemeister / F. Loix

"It was our own mistake", said a disappointed Tommi. "We didn’t have the tree stump marked in our notes and that was that, we hit it and broke the suspension. Every year the roads here get wider and wider because they plough them in the winter. We didn’t cut the corner but the tree stump was right on the edge of the road and because we were turning, all the components were more exposed and broke. We have to pin our hopes on New Zealand now, which is another of my favourite events and one where I know I can do well".

Regular team-mate Freddy Loix, who has the least experience in Finland of the trio of Mitsubishi drivers, holds 12th position in his Carisma GT. The Belgian, co-driven by Sven Smeets, has not been entirely happy with the handling of the car, but has balanced speed with caution, picking up the pace this afternoon to set consistent top ten times. "We were much closer to the leading drivers in stage five because it was a completely new stage and there was no advantage to the drivers with more experience than us", said Freddy. "If we hadn’t miscalculated a junction we would have been a bit quicker again. Overall I’m pretty happy with today - I wanted to have a good performance here and so far I think it’s going ok".

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

Toni Gardemeister and Paavo Lukander, who have been nominated as the second Mitsubishi crew, have had a frustrating opening leg and overnight in 22nd position. The balance of the car has felt different to the shakedown test, brake problems have slowed them and they then incurred time penalties in service as the Mitsubishi Ralliart technicians worked furiously to cure a problem with the master cylinder, which regulates the flow of brake fluid.

"It’s been disappointing today but we have to forget that now and look ahead to tomorrow", commented Toni. "The problem we had with the brakes was fixed this afternoon and I feel more confident with the car now. Tomorrow we will start again and I hope to be able to do some good times and start to attack".

Finns are especially hard to beat at home and they have dominated the Group N leaderboard, but Jouko Puhakka has been in a class of his own, even leading some of the much more highly modified World Rally Cars in his Carisma GT.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr.N J. Puhakka / K. Eerola