Mitsubishi boss stays realistic
Gilles Panizzi's third place in Monte Carlo marked the once-mighty Mitsubishi team's first visit to the podium since Tommi Makinen won the 2001 Safari Rally - but team boss Mario Fornaris was careful not to raise expectations afterwards
The new-generation Lancer WRC has never before broken into the top three of a world championship event, but the work done by the team in 2004 - when Mitsubishi withdrew from several events to concentrate on developing the often troublesome new car - paid off on this season's first round.
Fornaris predicted before the event that his team might be in contention for the podium by the second half of the season, so this result came well ahead of schedule.
"Now we want more podiums," he said. "This doesn't mean we will be looking for wins later in the year.
"One of the reasons we got the podium here was because other drivers dropped out, but it is still a big step for us and a great result."
Panizzi won seven asphalt rallies during his Peugeot seasons but was unable to better a sixth place last year in his first season with Mitsubishi. He was predictably delighted with this breakthrough result.
"This is just a fantastic result for the team," he said. "Everybody has worked hard for this. Driving the car was fantastic for me, I felt very happy behind the wheel."
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