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Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart is supporting FIA World Rally Championship leader Tommi Makinen's bid to set a new record on the Rally Finland, the 10th round of the 1999 series. Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Makinen is aiming to become the first driver to win a round of the World Rally Championship six years running. A win in Finland would give Mitsubishi its thirtieth WRC victory. Makinen will be backed by Freddy Loix in a Mitsubishi Carisma GT, while Mitsubishi is also strongly represented in the Group N production class.
Renowned for its high speeds (it is the fastest World Championship rally in Europe) and enormous jumps that send cars airborne for metres at a time, the Rally Finland is one of the world's most daunting tests of driving skill. Formerly known as the 1000 Lakes Rally, it is Finland's biggest sports event, attracting vast crowds to the forests in the centre of the country.
Makinen, co-driven by fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki, was born in Puuppola in the heart of Rally Finland territory and is the hot favourite. He has already won three rounds of the World Championship this year in his Michelin-shod Lancer Evolution - more than any other driver - and is eagerly looking forward to his home event.
"Of course I always drive to win, but this is a very special rally for me. It is always nice to be driving at home, and I hope to make it six wins in a row," Makinen said.
Belgian crew Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have far less experience of the Finnish stages than many of the other top drivers, but they have contested the event before and know that the Carisma GT's reliability will work in their favour.
"This is a really difficult rally, because of all the jumps and the high speeds, but it is a fantastic rally for a driver. There is a lot of opposition, but the Mitsubishi is very good here, so I hope we can get a good result," Loix commented.
"You can never get too confident in ralling, because it can so easily knock you back, but clearly our record in Finland is unsurpassed and we are looking to extend it. You have to have a car that's very well set-up for the conditions and stable at high speed. The average speed on most of the stages is 120 km/h, so you're at 160-200 km/h for nearly all the time. You have to have confidence in the car to achieve the times and we believe that the Mitsubishi will work well," stated Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Phil Short.
"Tommi is of course the favourite for the rally on past form and Freddy ought to be in the frame. He has been to Finland before and he knows what the rally is about. We're also going to give him a private test for two days," he added.
Mitsubishis have won the Group N category on all nine rounds of the World Rally Championship so far this season and amazingly, no fewer than 37 drivers, one third of the entry, are using Lancer Evolutions or Carisma GTs. A field bursting with talent includes championship leader Gustavo Trelles from Uruguay and nearest challenger Hamed Al-Wahaibi from Oman. However, they will do well to beat Finnish stars such as Juuso Pykalisto and Jani Paasonen or Swede Kenneth Backlund.
Based in Jyvaskyla, the rally includes 23 special stages, totalling 377 kilometres and runs from August 20-22. There will be seven stages comprising 82 kilometres in the first leg, which loops north of the host town, but the bulk of the distance is packed into the second leg. A long day south-west of Jyvaskyla includes the three longest stages of the rally and a total stage distance of 201 kilometres. The final leg runs east near Lake Paijanne, with six stages covering 93 kilometres and extra championship points on offer for the final stage, which is being televised live.
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Copyright 1999 by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
