Rally Portugal 2001
LEG THREE
First of the three stages scheduled for the final leg, SS 20, was cancelled as the conditions were again too muddy and foggy. Carlos Sainz had now only two stages to catch Makinen and that's what he was set to do. On SS 21 the Spaniard charged with all of his might and with the right tyre choice he was 13.3 secs faster than Makinen through the 23 km stage. This meant that the two leaders started the final stage from virtually even positions; Sainz was 0.3 secs ahead of Makinen.
At the mid-point of the last stage Sainz was only 0.4 secs slower than Makinen, but on the second half of the stage Sainz made a small mistake sliding wide on the mud, and that was enough for Makinen to take the victory of Rally Portugal by 8.6 seconds. For Makinen, this was a great way to celebrate his 100th world championship rally, although the conditions during the event were anything but enjoyable.
Marcus Gronholm finished third after a sensible drive, out of touch of the leaders. Richard Burns tried to catch Gronholm on the closing stages but making up almost a minute on two stages just was impossible. Francois Delecour had sorted out his gearbox problems and finished 5th, even though he was more than 10 minutes behind the leaders, a time gap that would be large even in the Safari Rally!
The Hyundais, after tackling their share of problems, both finished the rally. Alister McRae was 6th and Kenneth Eriksson brought the new evolution version of the Accent home in 7th place. Tommi Makinen took the lead in championship point with a margin of four points. Also Gronholm and Burns opened their points accounts, but Colin McRae still has zero points after three rallies.
Results of Rally Portugal:
1. Tommi Mäkinen (FIN) Mitsubishi - 3.46.42,2
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) Ford +8,6
3. Marcus Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot +2.55,6
4. Richard Burns (ENG) Subaru +3.24,3
5. Francois Delecour (FRA) Ford +10.06,8
6. Alister McRae (SCO) Hyundai +12.08,4
7. Kenneth Eriksson (SWE) Hyundai +13.32,5
8. Didier Auriol (FRA) Peugeot +16.08,6
9. Tapio Laukkanen (FIN) Toyota +16.35,9
10. Pasi Hagström (FIN) Toyota +19.32,5
Championship points after Rally Portugal:
Drivers
1. Tommi Mäkinen (FIN) Mitsubishi 20
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) Ford 16
3. Harri Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot 10
4. Francois Delecour (FRA) Ford 8
5. Thomas Rådström (SWE) Mitsubishi 6
6. Toni Gardemeister (FIN) Peugeot 5
7. Marcus Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 4
8. Richard Burns (ENG) Subaru 3
8. Armin Schwarz (GER) Skoda 3
10. Freddy Loix (BEL) Mitsubishi 1
10. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru 1
10. Alister McRae (SCO) Hyundai 1
Manufacturers
1. Mitsubishi 33
2. Ford 20
3. Hyundai 8
4. Subaru 7
5. Skoda 6
6. Peugeot 4
