PORTUGAL PRE EVENT RELEASE/MITSUBISHI MOTORS/2001 WRC

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Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart will start the Portugal Rally, the third round of the 2001 series, intending to build on a clear lead in the FIA World Rally Championship. Finland’s Tommi Makinen, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, shares the lead of the driver’s championship and Mitsubishi has a nine-point advantage in the manufacturers race. Belgian team-mate Freddy Loix, at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Carisma GT, is looking forward to one of his favourite events.

As the first sprint event on loose gravel each year, Portugal is often a key guide to form for the rest of the season. The rally is based in the northern city of Oporto, the heart of the port wine-growing area, 250 kilometres north of the capital, Lisbon. The event is easily the country’s biggest sporting event. The enthusiasm it generates has to be seen to be believed, with hordes of fans thronging the stages that wind through the hills and woods of northern Portugal. The possibility of bad weather at the beginning of the Portuguese spring does nothing to dampen spectators spirits and it is sure to provide a marked contrast with the snow and ice of the previous Monte Carlo and Swedish rallies.

The start of the Portugal rally will mark Tommi Makinen’s 100th World Championship rally. The Finn’s first event was in Finland in 1987 and since he has won 21 events and four consecutive World Championships. Makinen is a past winner in Portugal for Mitsubishi and following their Monte Carlo Rally win, he and co-driver Risto Mannisenmaki are eager to take on their rivals in the latest Lancer Evolution.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
World Rally Car Prototype
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
T. Makinen / R. Mannisenmaki
(Photo 2001 Geneva Motor Show)

"The car is quite a bit different from last year and after our testing, we think it should be very good. There will be quite a lot of new things, because they have changed some of the stages as well, so there could be some surprises this time. I am looking forward to it", Makinen said.

Makinen will confirm the set up of his Mitsubishi at a two-day test just before the start of the recce (3-4 March).

Belgians Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have always performed strongly in Portugal and are well equipped to offer Makinen excellent support, and to boost Mitsubishi’s healthy World Championship lead in the ultra-reliable Carisma GT.

"I have a good feeling about Portugal. I have quite a lot of experience there and we did a good test with the latest car. I think the Carisma GT is definitely better on gravel with the new rear suspension. It is easier to drive in the bad places and we can have more ground clearance. It will be interesting", Loix predicted.

"We’re all quite excited about Portugal. It’s the first chance for the latest version of the Lancer Evolution to show its worth. The car’s gone very well so far this year, with a win in Monte Carlo and second place in Sweden, but Portugal is one of the non-specialist events, the first event on the sort of roads we’re going to find for most of the season, so it’s a major test for every team. Our morale is high at the moment. Tommi of course has a good track record on the rally and we’re pleased with Freddy’s recent performances as well. I think it should be a great battle", Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager George Donaldson commented.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
World Rally Car Prototype
Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart
T. Makinen / F. Loix
(Photo 2001 Geneva Motor Show)

Mitsubishi Motors drivers look set for yet more success in the Group N production car category on the Rally of Portugal, the third round of the 2001 FIA World Rally Championship. A host of talented drivers in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Mitsubishi Carisma GTs mean that Mitsubishi could take an amazing 17th consecutive Group N triumph.

The Rally of Portugal is one of the most popular rallies in the World Championship. The loose-surface stages that snake through the Portuguese hills are varied and challenging, sometimes fast and rough, sometimes twisty and sandy. The weather is rarely predictable at the start of the Portuguese spring, but it is an absolute certainty that the fans will attend the rally in their hundreds of thousands. Few rallies have such a devoted following.

In Portugal, the man to beat could well be local star Miguel Campos, the winner on his home event for the past two years in his Carisma GT. Knowledge of the roads helps, but Campos has proven cool under pressure.

’’I like this rally very much and of course, the Carisma GT is the perfect car for Group N. I hope we can win for the third year, but it will be very difficult with so much opposition,’’ Campos said.

One of his main rivals is sure to be Group N World Champion Manfred Stohl, who is also driving a Carisma GT. Stohl has proved that he can match the locals almost anywhere in the world and he could well rival Campos.

’’Winning is never easy, especially when you are competing against someone on their home rally. Still, Portugal is a good rally and I like it, although you have to look after the car on some stages,’’Stohl commented.

There is a strong Latin American presence in Group N and it is almost certain that four-times Group N World Champion Gustavo Trelles will be one of the main contenders in his ever-reliable Lancer Evolution.

’’It is important for us to finish and score some points here, but I very much want to win as well. There are some new stages this year, which will make the rally interesting and I think it will be very close,’’ Trelles stated.

Once again, two of Argentina¹s rising stars are pinning their faith on Lancer Evolutions. Gabriel Pozzo became a Group N winner in his first season outside Argentina last year and newcomer Marcos Ligato is following in his footsteps. Both could be men to watch.

Other potential front runners for Mitsubishi include former World Champion Stig Blomqvist, who is contesting the Teams Cup in his Carisma GT, and Italian duo Marco Baldacci and Gianluigi Galli, also driving Carisma GTs.

The rally is based near the northern city of Oporto and runs from March 8-11. It includes 22 loose-surface special stages, totalling 390 kilometres, in a total distance of 1,794 kilometres. The rally begins with a superspecial on the Baltar circuit, before heading for the classic stages around Fafe, east of Oporto, with 10 stages covering 154 kilometres. The second leg is likely to be the toughest, as competitors face 177 kilometres of stages, with two loops of the notoriously demanding roads in Arganil to conquer. There are just three stages in the final leg, but the 57 stage kilometres are more than capable of providing an upset before the crews reach the finish.