Pirelli dominates Monte Carlo...but Makinen must wait for record win

Tommi Makinen must wait to see if he has secured a record-breaking fourth successive victory on the Monte Carlo Rally. The Finn finished a provisional second on his debut drive for the Subaru-Pirelli team but the FIA could turn that result into a famous victory. Last night the event stewards imposed a 2 minute penalty (instead of possible exclusion) on rally leader Sebastien Loeb for infringing the tyre-change regulations but the overall results were unchanged following Citroen's appeal against the penalty.

If the FIA confirms Loeb's penalty, Makinen will become the first driver to claim four successive wins on the Monte Carlo Rally and the first to achieve 24 outright victories. It also marks Pirelli's 122nd victory and gets the 2002 season off to a fantastic start with a strong asphalt performance for the latest PZero tyres.

Makinen set fastest time on today's opening stage and then, with the expectation that the FIA will uphold the penalty, settled into a pace that would ensure a safe completion to his debut drive in the Subaru-Pirelli team.

With conditions generally dry throughout the rally, Pirelli's PZero asphalt tyres have proved faultless with 8 stage wins from a possible 14 (one stage was cancelled), thus confirming their new-found advantage over our rivals. Nevertheless, Pirelli has got 4 cars fitted with its PZero tyres in the Top 6 positions: if Loeb's penalty is confirmed by Fia, it will turn in stunning 1-2-3 result for the 'long P' in the most famous rally in the world.

FINAL STANDING (14 SSs totally): 1.(Sub-judice) Loeb (Citron), 3h58'44" 8; 2. Makinen (Subaru-Pirelli) +45" 9; 3. Sainz (Ford-Pirelli) +2m01.6 ; 4. C. McRae (Ford-Pirelli) +2m43.9; 5. Gronholm (Peugeot) +2m53.3; 6. Solberg (Subaru-Pirelli) +3m15.5; 7. Panizzi (Peugeot) +4m06.0 ; 8. Burns (Peugeot) +5m02.3.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 1 of 14 events)
Drivers: 1. Loeb (sub-judice) pt.10; 2. Makinen 6; 3. Sainz 4; 4. C. McRae 3; 5. Gronholm 2; 6. Solberg 1

Manufacturers: 1. Subaru-Pirelli pt.12; 2. Ford-Pirelli 10; 3. Peugeot 4

NEXT EVENT: Sweden (gravel/snow/ice), 1-3 February