Rally of Great Britain 1999
Monday 22 November
COMMUNIQUE 3

MITSUBISHI DRIVER MAKINEN FIGHTS BACK
ON RALLY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart’s World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen is fighting back brilliantly on the Rally of Great Britain after damaging his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution’s suspension earlier today. Team-mate Freddy Loix is also running strongly on the final round of the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT.

Even regular competitors have been amazed by the size of the crowds in the forests of mid-Wales. Tens of thousands of fans have flocked to the stages on leg two and the queues of traffic reached over 20 kilometres in places, despite cool and often wet weather that has made the stages treacherously slippery. Briton Richard Burns leads his home event but his rival Colin McRae did not finish the day - he crashed out on the last stage.

World Champion Tommi Makinen and fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki started with high hopes of repeating Mitsubishi’s 1998 victory in their Michelin-equipped Lancer Evolution, but they lost nearly two minutes when they slid wide at a junction on stage nine and damaged the suspension. Momentarily dropping down to 17th place they have shot back into the points and finish the day in 5th place.

"It was a shame we lost so much time. It has been difficult running first car today, because it has been so slippery. It doesn’t matter so much now, but I still want to drive these stages flat out so we have a good chance next year", Makinen stated.

Belgians Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets are contesting the rally for the first time and have found it a tough but enjoyable test of their skills in the Carisma GT. They hold 14th place after the second leg.

"It is never easy to do a rally for the first time, especially one as fast and tricky as this. I think my times are acceptable and I am enjoying these stages. The car has been very good and I feel confident we can improve tomorrow", Loix said.

Overnight Group N leader Manfred Stohl retired on stage eleven.

The third and final leg of the rally is likely to be the toughest. It includes almost 200 kilometres of stages in south Wales, on some of the longest and fastest tests of the rally.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER LEG 2