The second group of 1996 built cars appeared in Argentina, with N6 MRE being assigned to Mäkinen, and N7 MRE to Richard Burns. This was everybody's first Rally Argentina - neither Tommi, nor Richard, nor the team has ever contested this event. Finns always do well here - and Mäkinen was no exception to this, as the fast stages resemble the ones in Finland. So he ran home with the win, and Burns also collected important points for his 4th place.
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| 1996 Rally Argentina (members.tripod.com) |
She returned at the Rally Australia, again as Mäkinen's car, and with Petronas livery. This was a very important event, as Mäkinen could seal his first world title. To make him work for that, there were very bad conditions, with rain and therefore always changing grip. However, they grabbed the lead on the first day, and never gave it away, bringing Tommi his 5th win of the season and his first world title.
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| 1996 Rally Australia podium (Brian Long: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo: The road car & WRC story) |
Whereabouts
1997 saw a complete change in the model line, which of course meant that the factory team was using the new cars as well. No data on what happened to this car, but it might have been used as a Safari recce car.
Track record
Starts: 2
Wins: 2
Podiums: 2
