Mitsubishi set to sweep HK-Beijing rally

BEIJING (Agencies): Veteran Finn Ari Vatanen headed a trio of Mitsubishi drivers to a comfortable lead on the penultimate day of the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally yesterday.

With just one day and 13.98 kilometers remaining, Mitsubishi dominated the overnight leader board which saw Vatanen on top with a total time of four hours 53 minutes and 45 seconds.

Young Briton Richard Burns clocked the fastest time in the four competitive sections yesterday to cut teammate Vatanen's lead to 53 seconds going into the final day.

And Japanese war horse Kenjiro Shinozuka completed Mitsubishi's supremacy, with his combined time of 5:15:35 putting him in third place in the provisional standings.

The race yesterday turned into an apparent personal battle between Vatanen and Burns, but the young driver acknowledged later that he was no longer going to push Vatanen into a fight.

"There's no point. We simply haven't got enough miles left," the 25-year-old Burns said. "If I tried to catch him, he would simply go a lot faster."

With buoyant Mitsubishi dressing up for a victory celebration, Vatanen confirmed that he and Burns would not fight into the finish. "It's a real team effort from now," said former world champion Vatanen. "We will try to do equal times on the stages."

Top seed and Asia Pacific Championship title holder Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden made an early exit on the 12th stage Tuesday.

Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh, in a Proton Wira, maintained his lead in the Group N battle, despite a fright in the Grand Canyon stage when he broke the front shock absorber. "We lost some time there, but at least we didn't go off," Singh said.

Only 25 out of 52 drivers will start the final day of the 3,800km odyssey through China. They will leave Shijiangchuan at 03.00 local time and compete on the Great Wall and Ming Tombs stages before arriving in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.