Mitsubishi to take sabbatical!

The factory Ralliart team will only contest an unspecified select number of rounds next season and concentrate instead on rebuilding for a full-scale return in 2004.

Both Ralliart Europe boss Andrew Cowan and Mitsubishi's head of motorsport activity Sven Quandt voted in favour of the shock move, which reduces the number of manufacturers competing in the top class of the WRC to six.

Quandt said: "This decision is necessary as our engineering resources in Japan and Europe are currently in the process of being restructured. We need some time to return as a top WRC team, just as Mitsubishi Motors Corporation needed time to return to profitability and growth over the last 18 months.

"We aim for a successful return with a competitive car in the near future to the benefit of the Mitsubishi brand."

The team has struggled to make this year's Evo WRC2 competitive, its best result coming in Sweden where Alister McRae finished fifth. It was a far cry from the Tommi Makinen era when the Finn notched up four world championships in Lancers.

The decision is a major blow to McRae and his team-mate Francois Delecour. While both are contracted to Mitsubishi for 2003, Cowan has already indicated that he would consider permitting them to take one-off drives elsewhere during the season.