SS4, Vieira: Inspired Makinen back on top
Tommi Makinen put in a super-human performance on the fourth stage of the Rally of Portugal to not only re-take the lead, but to put a buffer between him and his chasers of a staggering 23.6s
Makinen's Mitsubishi Lancer blitzed the 26.68km Vieira/Cabeceiras 1 stage in 20m36.2s, a massive 25.5s quicker than Peugeot's erstwhile leader Harri Rovanpera.
From being a two-way duel after three stages, it seems that Makinen is now in a zone of his own and could to all intents and purposes break the will of his 'opposition' well before the end of today's first leg.
As is fast becoming the norm, Ford's Carlos Sainz was third fastest, but 39.0s off the Flying Finn's benchmark.
Gronholm took fourth, ahead of Freddy Loix and Richard Burns, with a circumspect Colin McRae taking seventh. But to put things in perspective, the normally flamboyant Scot was a full 1m34.0s behind Makinen.
Peugeot driver Didier Auriol was delayed starting SS4. The Frenchman had a suspension breakage, which also damaged a waterpipe, and lost around 13 minutes making temporary repairs. The Peugeot cleared SS4 and gets a chance to be worked on in the Celorico de Basto service before SS5.
The fourth Subaru works entry of Toshihiro Arai is out of the event. The Japanese driver hit a rock on SS3, damaging his suspension, but went OTL (over the time limit) trying to make a temporary repair.
Tommi Makinen, Mitsubishi, 20m36.2s
Harri Rovanpera, Peugeot, 21m01.7s
Carlos Sainz, Ford, 21m15.2s
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot, 21m31.9s
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, 21m46.1s
Richard Burns, Subaru, 22m09.0s
Tommi Makinen, Mitsubishi, 43m20.4s
Harri Rovanpera, Peugeot, +23.6s
Carlos Sainz, Ford, +45.9s
Marcus Gronholm, Peugeot, +1m20.4s
Freddy Loix, Mitsubishi, +2m00.1s
Richard Burns, Subaru, +2m00.8s
Colin McRae, Ford, +2m23.9s
Francois Delecour, Ford, +2m40.8s
Kenneth Eriksson, Hyundai, +3m00.9s
Markko Martin, Subaru, +3m25.4s
Share Or Save This Story
How Hamilton's BTCC fairytale stole the Snetterton show
When Haas will decide on its F1 2027 driver line-up
Gucci becomes title partner of Alpine F1 team for 2027
Top 10 F1 drivers of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments