RALLY: Tommi Makinen Wins 67th Rally of Monte Carlo
22 January 1999
67th Rally of Monte CarloRound 1 of the 1999 FIA World Rally Championship
17 January - 20 January 1999
Congratulations to Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki and Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart on winning the 1999 Monte Carlo Rally
The Makinen winning machine has done it again. With a healthy lead, Makinen cruised through the final 4 stages of the rally, driving cautiously although he did spin twice on the first stage in slippery conditions. Kankkunen was 2nd for Subaru and a podium finish for the new Ford Focus with McRae in 3rd! The top four places represented four different manufacturers with Auriol in 4th (Toyota).
The end of a superb drive for Gilles Pannizzi though....on the first stage this morning, on a fast right-hander, the car lost grip on a black ice patch that was not in his notes. The front of the car hit a wall sideways, and the vehicle skidded about 100 m on its roof, before falling back on its wheels. No injuries for the crew but they were forced to retire.
The stages today were made up of 2 different stages that were repeated. Conditions were even more slippery than yesterday and 'most' drivers tended to be cautious.
Auriol however was not cautious and had an excellent drive today, going from 6th to 4th. He set out to catch Delecour and Thiry who were only 10 seconds in front at the start of the day. Te 3 drivers battled all day - Auriol was definately faster (winning 2 stages), but punctures by both Delecour and Thiry did work in his favour. Delecour edged out Thiry for 5th place.
Rovanpera was also on the limit and celebrated the Seat WRC's first stage - honking his horn at spectators on his way at the recognition of their applause. He finished in 8th, only 4 seconds behind Liatti.
A full wrap will be posted shortly along with details of all finishers. --------------------------------------------------------
Unofficial results and of Leg 4 (final):
1 Makinen Mitsubishi 5:16:50,6 2 Kankkunen Subaru 5:18:35,3 3 McRae Ford 5:20:07,4 4 Auriol Toyota 5:20:43,4 5 Delecour Ford 5:20:51,8 6 Thiry Subaru 5:20:53,1 7 Liatti Seat 5:23:48,7 8 Rovanpera Seat 5:23:52,9 9 Burns Subaru 5:26:15,2 10 Lungaard Toyota 5:30:56,8 Formula 2: 1 Gardemeister Seat 5:53:50,3 2 Maselli Renault 5:58:30,9 3 Rouit Citroen 6:14:43,1 Group N: 1 Duez Mit Carisma 5:43:31,2 2 Trelles Mit Evo V 5:51:07,7 3 Spiliotis Impreza WRX 5:54:59,7 ----------------------------------------------------------- Stage Winners: SS11 - Auriol (Toyota) SS12 - McRae (Ford) SS13 - Rovanpera (Seat) SS14 - McRae ----------------------------------------------------------- SS 11 Sospel-La Bollene Vesubie 33,65km Weather: 0c Stage Conditions: Wet road, black ice and compacted snow from 16.3 to 20.3km, dry road in the downhill. Notes: - Makinen: Spun once in the uphill, and once in the downhill. - Panizzi: Crashed out. In a fast right-hander, the car lost grip on a black ice patch that was not reported in his notes. Front of the car hit a wall sideways, and the vehicle skidded about 100 m on its roof, before falling back on its wheels. No injuries for the crew. - Kankkunen: "The road was a lot more slippery than yesterday." - McRae: punctured - Delecour: Chose snow tyres because he fears a comeback from Auriol. - Rovanpera: "So slippery ..." - Liatti: "Very cautious with his brakes after what happened yesterday. - Burns: "Crappy ! It was very difficult on the ice patches." - Jean-Joseph: Spun in the downhill and lost 15 seconds. Has engine cut-offs. - Duez: Bumped in the same spot as Panizzi, damaging the left side of the bodywork and left rear wheelrim. Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time: 1 Auriol Toyota 28:06,2 2 Thiry Subaru 28:16,0 3 Kankkunen Subaru 28:25,4 4 Liatti Seat 28:36,3 5 Delecour Ford 28:38,5 ----------------------------------------------------------- SS 12 Lantosque - Luceram 20,87km Weather: 5c Stage Conditions: The first 4 Km frost, then wet road until the end. Notes: Thiry - punctured Delecour - puntured Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time: 1 McRae Ford 15:43,2 2 Burns Subaru 16:03,7 3 Makinen Mitsubishi 16:07,0 4 Kankkunen Subaru 16:07,5 5 Lungaard Toyota 16:14,2 ----------------------------------------------------------- SS 13 Sospel-La Bollene Vesubie 33,65km Weather: 6 to 8c Stage Conditions: Wet road, black ice from 16,3 to 20,3km - dry in the downhill. Notes: Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time: 1 Rovanpera Seat 26:53,4 2 Auriol Toyota 26:53,8 3 Liatti Seat 26:55,4 4 Delecour Ford 26:59,8 5 Thiry Subaru 27:01,4 ----------------------------------------------------------- SS 14 Lantosque - Luceram 20,87km Weather: 7c Stage Conditions: The first 4 Km frost, then wet road until the end Notes: Stage Pos/ Driver/ Car/ Stage Time: 1 Auriol Toyota 15:19,0 2 Delecour Ford 15:25,0 3 Thiry Subaru 15:29,9 4 McRae Ford 15:29,9 5 Burns Subaru 15:43,0