1998 RALLYE DE FRANCE - TOUR DE CORSE
Wednesday 6th May
Leg 3 - 329.45 km - 5 SS - 112.02 km
COMMUNIQUE N° 4
MITSUBISHI LANCERS AND CARISMAS DOMINATE GROUP N
IN TOUR DE CORSE, RALLYE DE FRANCE
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs scored
another outstanding result on the Tour de Corse, the
sixth round of the 1998 World Rally Championship, taking
the first eight places in the Group N category for
near-standard cars. Austria’s Manfred Stohl has
extended his lead in the Group N championship over
reigning champion and fellow Mitsubishi driver Gustavo
Trelles.
The French round of the World Rally Championship came to
a thrilling climax on the rugged Mediterranean island.
After two days affected by rain and low cloud, the final
leg was held in bright, sunny conditions, although a sea
breeze meant that temperatures were not that high. Large
crowds thronged the stages and service areas as the
world’s best drivers battled for supremacy. Colin
McRae won in his Subaru for the second year running, but
his team-mate Piero Liatti lost a nailbiting duel with
Peugeot driver Francois Delecour, who took second, with
Liatti third and Gilles Panizzi fourth in another
Peugeot, ahead of Bruno Thiry’s Ford. Carlos Sainz
lost all chance of a good result when he got a puncture.
Manfred Stohl from Austria, co-driven by Peter Muller,
was delighted to win his class on his first attempt at
this exceptionally difficult rally. His victory, coupled
to Trelles’s second place, was telling proof of the
superb performance of the latest Mitsubishi Carisma GT
and Lancer Evolution, as Stohl and Trelles were the
pacesetters even though neither had contested the rally
before.
“I’m really happy to win here. I prefer
loose-surface rallies, so to win a rally on asphalt like
this one is very special, particularly as this is only my
second event in the new Mitsubishi. It was nice that it
was dry today, because it meant we were under less
pressure. This is a very useful result for us in the
championship,” Stohl declared.
“Today’s conditions have been much nicer. I
didn’t like the rain and fog on the first day at
all. This is a good finish for us and I’m very
pleased with the car, which has run perfectly,” said
Uruguayan star Trelles, who was co-driven by
Argentina’s Martin Christie.
Corsican school teacher Jean-Marie Santoni took a highly
creditable third in the group in his Lancer Evolution,
leading home the French Championship contenders.
“It isn’t easy to beat drivers who contest
World Championship rallies regularly, so I’m pleased
with our performance here. This car is fantastic,”
he said.
Excellent performances from Team Mitsubishi
Ralliart’s Lancer Evolutions and Carisma GTs this
season mean that the team holds joint second place in the
World Rally Championship for Manufacturers.
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart will be in action again in less
than three weeks, when it contests the seventh round of
the World Rally Championship, the Rally of Argentina.
FINAL
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
| 1.C.MCRAE/N.GRIST |
GB/GB |
SUBARU IMPREZA |
4.02.46.9 |
Gr-A |
| 2.F.DELECOUR/D.GRATALOUP |
F/F |
PEUGEOT 306
MAXI |
4.03.14.1 |
Gr-A |
| 3.P.LIATTI/F.PONS |
I/I |
SUBARU IMPREZA |
4.03.16.9 |
Gr-A |
| 4.G.PANIZZI/H.PANIZZI |
F/F |
PEUGEOT 306
MAXI |
4.03.23.0 |
Gr-A |
|
| 5.B.THIRY/S.PREVOT |
B/B |
FORD ESCORT |
4.03.32.7 |
Gr-A |
| 6.D.AURIOL/D.GIRAUDET |
F/F |
TOYOTA COROLLA |
4.05.26.2 |
Gr-A |
| 7.
F.DOENLEN/JM.ANDRIE |
F/F |
CITROEN XSARA |
4.06.48.0 |
Gr-A |
| 8.C.SAINZ/L.MOYA |
E/E |
TOYOTA COROLLA |
4.06.50.4 |
Gr-A |
| 9.J.KANKKUNEN/J.REPO |
FIN/FIN |
FORD ESCORT |
4.07.34.5 |
Gr-A |
| 10.P.MAGAUD/JM.ANDRIE |
F/F |
CITROEN XSARA |
4.10.59.1 |
Gr-A |
| 20.M.STOHL/P.MULLER
|
A/A |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.23.58.4 |
1st Gr-N |
| 21.G.TRELLES/M.CHRISTIE
|
ROU/RA |
MITSUBISHI
LANCER |
4.25.23.0 |
2nd Gr-N |
| 22.JM.SANTONI/JM.CASAMATTA
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.25.42.3 |
3rd Gr-N |
| 23.L.ALBERTINI/F.OLARI
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
LANCER |
4.29.36.6 |
4th Gr-N |
| 24.F.VERICEL/V.DUCHER
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.32.11.9 |
5th Gr-N |
| 25.J.ANDREANI/C.GILOT
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.32.21.3 |
6th Gr-N |
| 26.A.VAN
DER SMEEDE/P.BERK |
NL/NL |
MITSUBISHI
LANCER |
4.33.21.2 |
7th Gr-N |
| 27.JP.AYME/B.AYME
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.40.51.7 |
8th Gr-N |
Nationality :
A=Austria/
B=Belgium/ CZ=Czech Rep/ D=Germany/
E=Spain/ F=France/ FIN=Finland/
GB=Great Britain/ I=Italia/ NL=Netherlands/
RA=Argentina/ ROU=Uruguay/ S=Sweden/
SA=Saudi Arabia/ TR=Turkey |
1998 TOUR DE CORSE-RALLYE DE FRANCE
STATISTICS
Dates : 3 - 6 May 1998
Length : 1145.69 kms
Total SS: 399.18 kms on 17 special
stages
Entries : 80 (44 Group A + 36 Group N)
Starters : 80 (44 Group A + 36 Group N)
Makes : Peugeot 24, Renault 16, Mitsubishi 14,
Subaru 5, Toyota 5, Ford 4, Citroen 4, Skoda 1, Honda 1,
Hyundai 1, Fiat 1, Nissan 1, Lancia 1, Opel 1, Rover 1
Nations (first drivers) : 75 France, 5 Great
Britain, 3 Italy, 3 Finland, 3 Netherlands, 2 Spain,
2 Uruguay, 1 Austrian, 1 Monte Carlo, 1 Turkey, 1 South
Africa, 1 Germany, 1 Belgium
Overall winners :
| 1.C.MCRAE/N.GRIST |
GB/GB |
SUBARU IMPREZA |
4.02.46.9 |
Gr-A |
| 2.F.DELECOUR/D.GRATALOUP |
F/F |
PEUGEOT 306
MAXI |
4.03.14.1 |
Gr-A |
| 3.P.LIATTI/F.PONS |
I/I |
SUBARU IMPREZA |
4.03.16.9 |
Gr-A |
| 4.G.PANIZZI/H.PANIZZI |
F/F |
PEUGEOT 306
MAXI |
4.03.23.0 |
Gr-A |
|
| 5.B.THIRY/S.PREVOT |
B/B |
FORD ESCORT |
4.03.32.7 |
Gr-A |
| 6.D.AURIOL/D.GIRAUDET |
F/F |
TOYOTA COROLLA |
4.05.26.2 |
Gr-A |
| 7.
F.DOENLEN/JM.ANDRIE |
F/F |
CITROEN XSARA |
4.06.48.0 |
Gr-A |
| 8.C.SAINZ/L.MOYA |
E/E |
TOYOTA COROLLA |
4.06.50.4 |
Gr-A |
| 9.J.KANKKUNEN/J.REPO |
FIN/FIN |
FORD ESCORT |
4.07.34.5 |
Gr-A |
| 10.P.MAGAUD/JM.ANDRIE |
F/F |
CITROEN XSARA |
4.10.59.1 |
Gr-A |
| 20.M.STOHL/P.MULLER
|
A/A |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.23.58.4 |
1st Gr-N |
| 21.G.TRELLES/M.CHRISTIE
|
ROU/RA |
MITSUBISHI
LANCER |
4.25.23.0 |
2nd Gr-N |
| 22.JM.SANTONI/JM.CASAMATTA
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.25.42.3 |
3rd Gr-N |
| 23.L.ALBERTINI/F.OLARI
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
LANCER |
4.29.36.6 |
4th Gr-N |
| 24.F.VERICEL/V.DUCHER
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.32.11.9 |
5th Gr-N |
| 25.J.ANDREANI/C.GILOT
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.32.21.3 |
6th Gr-N |
| 26.A.VAN
DER SMEEDE/P.BERK |
NL/NL |
MITSUBISHI
LANCER |
4.33.21.2 |
7th Gr-N |
| 27.JP.AYME/B.AYME
|
F/F |
MITSUBISHI
CARISMA GT |
4.40.51.7 |
8th Gr-N |
Nationality :
A=Austria/
B=Belgium/ CZ=Czech Rep/ D=Germany/
E=Spain/ F=France/ FIN=Finland/
GB=Great Britain/ I=Italia/ NL=Netherlands/
RA=Argentina/ ROU=Uruguay/ S=Sweden/
SA=Saudi Arabia/ TR=Turkey |
Stages winners : Liatti 4, McRae 4, Thiry 4,
Sainz 3, McRae 1, Delecour 1, Panizzi 1
Rally leaders : McRae 1, Makinen 2, Sainz 3-4,
McRae 5-18
World Championship for Drivers : McRae 24, Sainz
22, Burns 18, , Kankkunen 16, Auriol 15, Makinen 14, Loix
10, Liatti 8, Delecour & Vatanen 6, Thiry 5, Eriksson
3.
World Championship for Manufacturers: Subaru 35,
Mitsubishi 32, Toyota 32, Ford 25 .
Communique 3
Communique 2
Communique 1
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Copyright
1998 by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. 
