Oldalak

2013. március 8., péntek

S44 TMR

1999
Just like S4, S44 TMR was a pure gravel car, never getting the chance to prove herself on a tarmac event. Given the double numbers in her license plate, she was mainly used by Loix, or later the 3rd driver. In contrary to her sister, she was even used in 2001; but don't rush, let's just start from the beginning.
Her career started on the Safari, but not really well: Loix had a bad accident, landing on the roof, and hurting his neck - the car was also a mess.
During shakedown of the 1999 Safari (Mitsubishi)
She returned to action on the Acropolis, helping Freddy to a 4th-place finish.
Breaking through the rough stages, 1999 Acropolis Rally (Mitsubishi)
2000 
In 2000, she had a very important role as one of the test cars having the new 2001 specifications installed. These included a revised engine, and a lot of chassis (new rollcage design, bigger rear wheel arches to accommodate the bigger suspension travel) and rear suspension developments (much stronger damper at the rear, bigger travel, etc.). The car covered 800kms in the Arctic as a preparation for the 2001 Rally Sweden.
Mäkinen testing for the 2001 Rally Sweden in Finland, 2000. december
2001
She made her return at the 2001 Rally Sweden as an Evo 6.5, driven by local expert Thomas Radström. The pairing proved to be successful, signaled by a 2nd-place finish.
Sliding to her best-ever finish, Sweden 2001 (Mitsubishi)
Her final event was the Cyprus Rally, not surprisingly one of the roughest in the world. Her new driver was japanese star Katsuhiko Taguchi. The hard conditions and the inexperience of Katsu was enough to put a stop to their event on the penultimate stage due to suspension damage.
On her last WRC rally, 2001 Cyprus (Mitsubishi)
Whereabouts
Well, nothing sure here as well... She might have escaped, as she was one of the last cars of the 6.5s that was still in use in 2001.

Track records:
Starts:4
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1 (2001 Rally Sweden)
Best finish: 2nd (2001 Rally Sweden)
Retirements: 2 (1999 Safari Rally & 2001 Rally Cyprus)

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