Rally Argentina 1999
Monday 24 May
COMMUNIQUE 4

MITSUBISHI LANCER DRIVER MAKINEN FIGHTS BACK
AS MITSUBISHI DOMINATES GROUP N IN ARGENTINA

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen is set to improve his position on the Rally of Argentina, the seventh round of the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship. Makinen, the World Championship leader, holds fifth in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, eighteen seconds behind rival Carlos Sainz. Teammate Freddy Loix has climbed to eighth while Mitsubishis are in command in the Group N production class.

The second leg has used the demanding stages in the rugged hills north of Cordoba around La Cumbre and Ascochinga. They pose a real challenge to the drivers, as some of them are very quick, while others are twisty and narrow. Cool, damp weather has made them slippery in places, but Mitsubishi’s Michelin tyres have been well suited to the conditions.

Triple World Champion Tommi Makinen, co-driven by fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki, was not able to regain time in the morning after he picked up two punctures on the opening stage. However this afternoon, he demonstrated the Lancer Evolution’s championship-winning pedigree with a string of excellent stage times.

"Now we have overcome our problems, I am very happy with the car. If we had had more luck, I am sure we could have been leading the rally", Tommi said.

Belgian crew Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have driven intelligently in their ultra-reliable Carisma GT to maintain their place in the top 10 - a fine performance on their first visit to Argentina.

"The rally is not going badly at all. In places my pace notes are not completely accurate and I lost a few seconds when I spun, but the car is fine and I feel good about the rally", Loix observed.

"We’ve had a mixed day, but the important thing is that both cars are still running. Tommi got off to an unfortunate start with the double punctures, but he has been very fast this afternoon and our objective is to improve on fifth place tomorrow. Freddy has been handicapped by a limited recce in bad weather, but he’s doing as well as can be expected", Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Phil Short commented.

Mitsubishi is in command in Group N thanks to triple World Group N Champion Gustavo Trelles of Uruguay. His nearest rival is another Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver, Argentina’s Jorge Recalde. Oman’s Al-Wahaibi retired earlier in the day when he went of the road and broke his front left wheel. Argentina’s tough rally has also claimed Austrian Manfred Stohl’s Mitsubishi.

The rally is far from over, as the last leg includes over 130 kilometres of special stages in a compact loop south of Cordoba, around Santa Rosa de Calamuchita.