SS8: Makinen within striking distance

The Mitsubishi star was fastest by 11.7s on SS8, Sisteron-Thoard, and its combination of damp tarmac, black ice and packed snow. His flying start to the penultimate day of the season-opening event has netted him fastest time on both the stages run so far.

Fords were second, third and fourth over the 36.69km test, but not in the order McRae would have liked. Francois Delecour was second fastest, ahead of Carlos Sainz, but the Scot was a full 20.1s off flying Finn Makinen's scratch time of 26m02.3s.

Both Delecour and Sainz had chosen tyre combinations designed to exploit Sisteron's icy middle section, but since the tyres had to be used on SS7 as well as SS8, the pair had bided their time on SS7. Mcrae, by contrast, had gone all out from the start and was unable to push as hard on SS8.

Armin Schwarz again was best of the non-Mitsubishi/Ford best, with Freddy Loix sixth, ahead of Alister McRae's Hyundai.

In Group N, Swiss driver Olivier Gillet has wrested the lead from Manfred Stohl, who dropped nearly five minutes in Sisteron.

The crews now service at Digne les Bains, before three stages starting with Clumanc at 13:34 local time (12:34 GMT). This afternoon's stages should be less snow- and ice-covered than the morning's openers, but McRae must shift up a gear too if he is to fend off the attacks of a determined Makinen.


1 Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi), 26m02.3s
2 Francois Delecour (Ford), 26m14.0s
3 Carlos Sainz (Ford), 26m16.3s
4 Colin McRae (Ford), 26m22.4s
5 Armin Schwarz (Skoda), 26m26.9s
6 Freddy Loix (Mitsubishi), 26m28.5s


1 Colin McRae (Ford), 2h36m47.6s
2 Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi), 2h36m50.1s
3 Carlos Sainz (Ford), 2h37m35.7s
4 Francois Delecour (Ford), 2h38m42.1s
5 Armin Schwarz (Skoda), 2h38m45.9s
6 Alister McRae (Hyundai), 2h39m57.9s
7 Freddy Loix (Mitsubishi), 2h40m06.5s
8 Toni Gardemeister (Peugeot), 2h40m50.6s
9 Olivier Burri (Toyota), 2h42m00.3s
10 Olivier Gillet (Mitsubishi - GpN), 2h46m02.6s