SAFARI RALLY KENYA (25-28 February)
1999 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3

MITSUBISHI LANCER DRIVER TOMMI MAKINEN
FIGHTS BACK ON SAFARI RALLY

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen is in touch with the leaders in fifth place after the first leg of Kenya’s Safari Rally, the third round of the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship. Oman driver Hamed Al-Wahaibi is dominating the Group N production class in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

The Safari rally has lived up to its reputation as the roughest and toughest round of the World Championship. The first leg was fought out in brilliant sunshine on the hot, dusty plains south of the Nairobi. Thousands of spectators lined the route in and out of the Kenyan capital, as well as the bustling villages through which the cars passed at high speed. The pace has already been too hot for the Subarus of Juha Kankkunen and Bruno Thiry, who both retired with electrical problems.

Championship leader Tommi Makinen and fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki suffered an immediate setback when they got two simultaneous punctures on the first section of the morning, but they fought back strongly to climb to fifth place by the end of the leg.

"It’s really tight at the top of the field. All the cars are so close. We will just keep going and keep the others under pressure. I’m looking forward to the faster sections in the second leg tomorrow," said Makinen.

Belgian team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets were forced to retire after crashing their Mitsubishi Carisma GT.

"We had a fairly difficult start to the day. We're sorry about Freddy, but pleased that Tommi has recovered somewhat from his difficult start. There’s a long way to go and I would hope we can start to recover some lost ground. We certainly haven’t given up hope of winning this rally," reported Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart team manager Phil Short.

Hamed Al-Wahaibi and New Zealand co-driver Tony Sircombe have set a searing pace in Group N, pushing their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ahead of many of the much more highly modified Group A cars to hold an amazing tenth place overall. They are being strongly supported by last year’s Group N victor Luis Climent of Spain, who has adopted a swift but steady approach in his Lancer Evolution.

The second leg is expected to be very demanding. It includes four competitive sections in north-western Kenya, totalling 382 kilometres, including the longest of the rally at 129 kilometres.