MITSUBISHI BIDS FOR RENEWED SUCCESS
ON ITALY'S SANREMO RALLY

Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart is aiming to repeat last year's victory on Italy's Sanremo Rally, the 12th round of the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship. Winning could make all the difference as the championship enters its closing stages with three rounds remaining. It has a powerful team in the shape of World Champion Tommi Makinen in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Belgian Freddy Loix in a Mitsubishi Carisma GT.

Rallying in Italy has a long history and a wildly enthusiastic following. Hundreds of thousands of fans will throng the heavily wooded mountains of Liguria, close to the French border, and the minor roads near Acqui Terme, eagerly waiting for the sights and sounds of the world's best rally cars and drivers. As a pure tarmac event, precise handling and powerful brakes will be crucial, but Italy can be unpredictable in autumn and competitors may encounter either dry roads bathed in sunshine or torrential rain, with mud and wet leaves lurking round every corner.

World Rally Championship leader Tommi Makinen and fellow Finn Risto Mannisenmaki won the rally last year in their Michelin-shod Lancer Evolution and have high hopes of repeating that success after a thorough test in Italy, in which they tried improved transmission and brakes.

"We need a win now that the Championship is so close. I am confident we can do it. My Mitsubishi is in great shape and I enjoy driving on tarmac. It will be a great battle but I think we have an excellent chance," Makinen promised.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT crew Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets have a fine reputation on tarmac rallies, having made their names on similar events in their native Belgium. Loix is eager to prove his worth after a tough season and his Sanremo track record suggests that he will be one of the front runners.

"I have always liked this rally and I was very happy with the Carisma after our test in Italy. We have made progress and I think it will be nice to drive. Of course there are a lot of opposition and it will not be easy but we will be trying our best," Loix said.

"I think Tommi will adapt to the situation swiftly. He does seem to grasp new stages very quickly and I'm sure he will go well. Freddy should be in a good position too, as the majority of top drivers have no experience in China," he added.

Mitsubishi will be aiming to maintain a remarkable run of success in the Group N class as well. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drivers have won the production class on all 10 rounds of the 1999 World Rally Championship so far and Mitsubishi has every chance of maintaining that record in China, as the entrants include triple World Champion Gustavo Trelles of Uruguay and his great rival, Oman's Hamed Al-Wahaibi.

The China Rally is also the final round of the prestigious Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and it is set for a thrilling finish. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver Yoshihiro Kataoka is level with New Zealander "Possum" Bourne and Kataoka therefore faces one of the toughest tests of his career if he is to earn the title. Fellow Japanese Katsuhiko Taguchi has already won the Group N category, but the Lancer Evolution driver will be present anyway to do battle with the World Rally Championship contenders.

In total, the event runs from September 16-19 and covers 1423 kilometres, with 22 stages covering 385 kilometres. Each leg starts and finishes in Huairou. The first leg is the longest, packing in eight stages, totalling 151 kilometres. The second promises to be just as tough, with 148 kilometres of stages, while the third and final leg includes six stages, covering 86 kilometres.