MITSUBISHI AIMS FOR FIRST MONTE CARLO WIN WITH
LANCER EVOLUTION AND CARISMA GT

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart intends to capitalize on its 1998 successes on the first round of the 1999 World Rally Championship, the Monte Carlo Rally. It has a strong team, with triple World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Belgian newcomer Freddy Loix in a Mitsubishi Carisma GT.

1998 season was over with fantastic battle with 5 manufacturers and Mitsubishi had a Manufacturers' title and 2 Drivers' titles with Makinen and Gustavo Trelles. 1999 World Rally Championship will compete between 6 manufacturers, such as Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Seat, Skoda and Mitsubishi from Monte Carlo Rally in January. From the mid-season of 1999, there are 2 more manufacturers, Peugeot and Hyundai will join the World Rally Championship.

The Monte Carlo Rally is the oldest and perhaps the most famous in the World Rally Championship. First held in 1911, it has preserved much of its traditional challenge, for although it is no longer very difficult to reach Monte Carlo by car in January, the hazards posed by snow and ice make huge demands of car, driver and tyres. Above all, it is one of the least predictable rallies, because the roads may be dry throughout, centimetres deep in snow, or anything in between. One of the world's great sporting spectacles, it attracts crowds in their hundreds of thousands, thronging the mountainsides and the picturesque Alpine villages, warming themselves by lighting small fires, or taking a glass of wine.

World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen will be fighting fit for one of the few major rallies that he and Mitsubishi have yet to win. Co-driven by fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki, Makinen is eager to extend Mitsubishi unbeaten runs to five rallies - and to take the first win for a Finnish driver since 1986. "I was leading Monte Carlo last year and it is a rally I would really like to win. The Lancer is good in all conditions, we have done good work with Michelin on the tyres and I think we have a good chance. It is too long since a Finn won this rally! ", Makinen said.

Belgian team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets are finding their feet, as they prepare for their first rally for Mitsubishi, but the Carisma GT crew have had plenty of testing - both in the south of France in mid-December and far to the north in Lapland - and they are thrilled with the car's performance. "Of course I want to finish the rally and learn, but this is a big chance for me and I like the Carisma very much. It seems very easy to drive, even on twisty roads or in difficult conditions", Loix said.

"Obviously, we would very much like to continue the momentum of the second half of 1998 - we haven't been beaten since the Rally of New Zealand - but Monte Carlo is always a bit of a lottery, depending on weather and tyre choice. However, our testing suggests that the car and tyres are working well in a wide range of conditions", said Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Manager Phil Short. "Tommi is of course a potential winner, but it's difficult to say how well Freddy will do on his first rally for the team. I'm sure he can finish in the points and we will be happy if he does so. It will depend on the conditions. He's conscious that he needs more time on ice and snow and we arranged an extra test for him at the beginning of January".

Mitsubishi has every right to expect further success in Group N, the production class that has been dominated by the Lancer Evolution and Carisma GT in recent years. Triple World Group N Champion Gustavo Trelles returns, but the Uruguayan Mitsubishi driver is sure to face a stern challenge from Austrian Manfred Stohl, the runner-up in Group N last year in his Mitsubishi. No fewer than 14 Mitsubishis are entered in Group N, for such stars as Marc Duez and former European Champions Maurizio Verini and Yves Loubet.

The rally covers 1,613 kilometres and starts in Monaco on January 17 for the first leg to Gap without special stages. However, the first special stage is held the following morning well to the north of Gap and it is the longest of the rally, at no fewer than 48 kilometres! The second leg has a total of 161 km of stages - more than any other leg - and a greater chance of bad weather, as it is the most northerly. The third leg takes competitors back to Monaco via formidable stages such as Sisteron-Thoard, which has often played a decisive role in the past, and a lengthened version of the Col de Turini. Its five stages cover 154 km. The fourth and final leg is the shortest, with just four stages and 109 of the 425 km of flat-out driving, but it is far from easy, for it uses some of the most difficult roads in the Alpes-Maritimes.

67th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo

ITINERARY