Makinen conquers muddy conditions in Portugal

FINLAND'S Tommi Makinen stands clear at the top of the world rally championship points table after powering his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution to victory in the Rally of Portugal.

In doing so, the four-times world champion notched up his 22nd win from 100-world rally championship starts, as well as giving Mitsubishi its 25th victory with the Lancer Evolution/Carisma GT.

Makinen lead for most of the event, but was challenged by Carlos Sainz in the closing kilometres of the rally.

Torrential rain before and during the event turned the gravel special stages into a muddy quagmire, with the final day's three competitive sections being reduced to two after the course checking cars became stuck in the mud.

Sainz momentarily snatched the lead by 3/10ths of a second with an exceptional drive on the penultimate stage, finishing over 13 seconds ahead of Makinen.

Tyre choice was the key to success on the final stage with liquid mud making life hell for the competitors.

Makinen's tyre technicians made extra cuts in the pattern of his tyres, enabling him to storm through the final test 8.6 seconds clear of Sainz.

"It's been such a difficult weekend and the last three years in Portugal I've had a bad performance and no results. We've been leading most of the rally, and up until the last stage, and I can tell you that was more than maximum attack," Makinen said.

Sainz was always in the hunt for victory, but was forced to settle for his second runner-up finish of the year.

The third driver on the podium was Finn Marcus Gronholm, who was relieved to collect his - and Peugeot's - first world championship points this season.

Gronholm finished nearly a minute clear of Subaru's Richard Burns who had threatened with a late charge on the final day.

"There was little to gain from charging today because I was too far behind Carlos and Tommi to really pressurise them. After yesterday afternoon's good times I knew that Richard would have to do something pretty special to catch me if I didn't make any mistakes, so I just concentrated on that," Gronholm said.

Francois Delecour brought the second Ford Focus home in fifth position, while Hyundai drivers Alister McRae and Kenneth Eriksson both scored points on debut in the new Accent WRC², finishing sixth and seventh respectively.

"I'm obviously very pleased. This is the roughest rally I have ever done, and to get not just one, but two cars to the finish, is excellent," said McRae.

Makinen now leads the drivers championship by four points over second place Sainz, with Harri Rovanpera a further four points back in third.

After ice, snow and mud, the world rally championship now switches to Spanish asphalt for the Rallye de Catalunya on March 22-25.

OUTRIGHT RESULTS1. Makinen (FIN) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3:46:42.12. Sainz (ESP) Ford Focus RS WRC 3:46:50.73. Gronholm (FIN) Peugeot 206 WRC 3:49:37.74. Burns (GB) Subaru Impreza WRC 3:50:06.45. Delecour (F) Ford Focus RS WRC 3:56:48.96. McRae (GB) Hyundai Accent WRC² 3:58:50.57. Eriksson (SWE) Hyundai Accent WRC² 4:00:14.68. Auriol (F) Peugeot 206 WRC 4:02:50.79. Laukkanen (FIN) Toyota Corolla WRC 4:03:18.010. Hagstrom (FIN) Toyota Corolla WRC 4:06:14.6 DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIPT. Makinen 20C. Sainz 16H. Rovanpera 10F. Delecour 8T. Radstrom 6T. Gardemeister 5M. Gronholm 4A. Schwarz 3R. Burns 3F. Loix 1P. Solberg 1A. McRae 1MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIPMitsubishi 33Ford 20Hyundai 8Subaru 7Skoda 6Peugeot 4