Mitsubishi fights to reclaim title

The four-times World Rally Champion has retired four times this season, and trails Burns by 15 points. He is currently equal fourth in the points standings.

However, a new version of the venerable Lancer Group A car has undergone a successful test in Finland, and will, Mitsubishi believes, launch them back to the top of the World Rally pile.

"I am very pleased," Makinen claimed. "It feels very, very good. There is quite a lot less weight at the front, and there are better differentials - they react much quicker."

The new Lancer is reportedly 25kg lighter than its predecessor, and weight distribution has been improved, all by a radical rethink of the layout of the car. The team's chief engineer Bernard Landauer claimed "it's easy to save weight when you think about the whole assembly".

"I am quite sure it should be competitive enough," claimed Makinen. The car will break cover in the championship at the Rally Finland on August the 17th.

The next round of the championship is New Zealand, on July 13-16th.