The Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki, leaders in the FIA World Rally Championship, have been seriously hampered in the opening leg of the Rally New Zealand. Running first on the road, the Finns have swept the stages clean of loose gravel and, as a consequence, hold 14th position overnight. Regular team-mates Freddy Loix/Sven Smeets lead the team assault in a fine sixth overall while the registered crew of Toni Gardemeister/Paavo Lukander are 31st after early problems.

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

Mitsubishi Motors drivers are however in the thick of the battle for victory in the Group N production car category. Austria’s Manfred Stohl holds second place in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT, and six of the top seven places in the group are held by drivers of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions or Carisma GTs.

The 2001 Rally New Zealand got underway last night with a two-minute silence on the start ramp in Auckland in remembrance of those who died in last week’s terrorist attacks in the United States of America. In the presence of thousands of spectators, the 68 competing crews received enormous support ahead of the 1,690 kilometre competition, which began in earnest early this morning in cool and mainly dry 15 degree temperatures. As the crews left at 05:00 hrs, overnight rain was evident, however the dampness made little difference to the conditions on the stages around the pretty harbour town of Raglan, 150 kilometres to the south of Auckland and Hamilton.

As series leader, Makinen was forced to run first on the road and the Finn has had to power his Lancer Evolution through at least an inch of loose gravel, clearing a cleaner line for the following cars. Intermittent light rain has made little difference to the conditions, or his challenge, and the Finn has just had to frustratingly accept the disadvantage. "There is absolutely no grip at all", he stated. "The car is sliding around all over the place and it’s impossible to put the power on or brake in the right places. I’ve never seen it like this before and it is very unfair". In SS6, the only repeated stage of the leg and one where the conditions were more equal, Makinen spun and lost more time while his rivals jostled for position, no one wanting to assume the number one spot tomorrow. "We made a huge spin in stage 6 but we have already lost a lot of time", added Tommi. "Tomorrow we will be in a much better road position, assuming the weather conditions don’t change, but we’re already two minutes behind and in my opinion this is a bit too much. We will have to see, but obviously we have to push hard because anything is possible".

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

Team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets are nevertheless upholding team honours and the Carisma GT pairing hold sixth overnight behind Hyundai’s leader Kenneth Eriksson. Early this morning the Belgians were not happy with the stability of the car in high speed sections, but changes to the differential mapping have helped the crew push harder this afternoon. "The car felt better once we had made some changes, although still not perfect, but I decided it was better to try and get the settings right for a good run tomorrow", commented Freddy. "The most difficult thing has been the camber of the road as it’s hard to get the car flowing from one side to the other because you lose a bit of traction. Our position is okay for tomorrow I think; there seems to be a big difference between running fourth and sixth, but nearly no difference between sixth and eighth position. There is also only seven seconds between the guys in fifth and ninth positions, so I think there will be a good fight for us now".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart T. Gardemeister / P. Lukander

Registered team-mates Toni Gardemeister and Paavo Lukander have had a disappointing day in the Lancer Evolution, only getting a clean run in SS2. The Finn hit a rock in stage 4, holing the sump guard and losing all the transmission oil, and has had an assortment of spins, locking wheels and high tyre wear. "Today was disappointing but tomorrow is another day, so I hope we can go better and set some good times", he said.

Reigning Group N World Champion Manfred Stohl is a former winner of Group N in New Zealand and he has been in fine form, making the most of his Carisma GT’s power and handling to climb to second place. "Things are going well at the moment. The car seems good and I think we can do better, but it’s going to be difficult to win here. There’s some tough opposition," Stohl said.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr.N M. Stohl / P. Muller