Makinen ready for hat trick at Medan fally

Makinen ready for hat trick at Medan fally

JAKARTA (JP): A hat trick of wins is very much on the cards
for Finland's Tommi Makinen in the Bank Utama world rally
championship, scheduled from May 10 to May 12 in Medan, North
Sumatra.

Makinen and his Mitsubishi have proved themselves unbeatable
after winning both the Swedish and Safari rallies -- the
championship's first two legs this year.

Thus, the man who has conquered the world's two natural
extremes -- the snow-floored Swedish roads and the scorching
wasteland of Kenya --, should find North Sumatra's labyrinthian
plantations and tropical heat child's play.

And if he performs as expected, he will clinch his first
victory on Asian soil.

Makinen, third in last year's championship, will have
compatriot Seppo Harjanne as his co-driver. Harjanne, according
to the rally's organizer, visited Medan last month to reconnoiter
the 1,300-kilometer route which has 27 special stages of a total
length of 460kms.

Dark horses, however, always lurk. Four-time world champion
Juha Kankkunen of Finland has decided to bring his Toyota to
Medan after skipping last month's Safari rally in Kenya. Former
world champion Carlos Sainz and his navigator Luis Moya also come
to Medan on behalf of Ford. Subaru will field Scottish veteran
and current world champion Colin McRae, who will have 1995 Asia-
Pacific rally champion Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden as his partner.

President Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra, Indonesia's top
rally driver, will lead a pack of home contenders. Hutomo will be
in his Subaru Imprezza with his new navigator, New Zealand's
Tonny Sircombe. Other Asian competitors include top Japanese
driver Toshiaki Endo in a Mitsubishi Lancer, 1995 Malaysian
champion Karamjit Singh and seasoned Hong Kong competitor Michael
Liew.

For Indonesia, this will be the second time it stages a world-
level motorsport event. The first was the Indonesia Grand Prix
Motorcycling Championships, held in Sentul earlier this month. (arf)