Makinen confident about Corsica return

In last October's event (the asphalt rally having moved to March for this year) the Finn rolled his Mitsubishi Lancer WRC on the fifth stage of the event which left regular co-driver Risto Mannisenmaki with a fractured vertebra. But as he prepares to make his Corsican debut for Subaru, Makinen says there is no point in dwelling what has gone before.

"You can't be driving and worrying about maybe having an accident," he said. "I simply don't think about it. Accidents do happen, but they can happen anywhere in the season, not just Corsica."

The new Impreza WRC2002 will make its debut in Corsica on Friday, but one person who won't be there is Mannisenmaki. Subaru had hoped he would be in the passenger seat next to Makinen for Corsica, but team manager George Donaldson said the Finn wasn't quite yet up to the fitness required to compete at WRC level.

"Risto is focussed on getting back to peak fitness. His doctors say he's doing this as fast as possible and they're impressed with his recovery," said Donaldson. "Nevertheless he suffered a serious injury and the simple fact is that his recovery will take time. We're in agreement with Risto that he will not get back into the car until his levels of fitness meets or exceeds the level it was before the accident."

Stand in pace-noter Kaj Lindstrom will continue his co-driving duties for Makinen in Corsica.