P44 MRE

The car(s) with P44 MRE plates (more on this shortly) -in contrary to the double digits- belonged to Tommi Mäkinen in 1997. Her debut event was the 1997 Catalunya Rally, and there's no better way to debut than to do it with a win!

En route to the victory, 1997 Spain (internet)

This was followed by a long pause, but the car returned to action on the Sanremo Rally. Despite Mäkinen's inexperience of the stages, he finished third after a huge battle with Sainz on the last day.

Sanremo's fast, narrow roads and dry conditions meant tight competition (internet)

1998
Her last WRC event was the season opener Monte Carlo Rally - but this time with Burns. The young Brit had little to none experience of the tricky event, but in the end he didn't crash out like Mäkinen did, as he finished in 5th place.

Great pic from Rallye MC - note the frozen water on
the intercooler from the spray system (Mitsubishi)

Whereabouts
The car -or cars- that carried the P44 MRE plate hasn't been seen since MC in its original Evo IV shape; however, it is possible that it was used as a Safari Rally recce car or was converted to an Evo VI.

Track record
Wins: 1 (1997 Catalunya Rally)
Podiums: 2 (1997 Catalunya Rally & Sanremo Rally)
Retirements: 0