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| Home » Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution News » Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Drivers Ready For Season Finale ... | ||
| 11/10/2005 Perth, Australia - Warm weather and blue cloudless skies greeted the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution crews as they made their last minute preparations for some tough competition in Rally Australia, the final round of the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship. A field of 35 Group N4 cars will be gunning for victory on one of the trickiest events of the season. Rally Australia is one of the firm favorites of many drivers on the world circuit but its dry and dusty red-colored roads, renowned for the ball bearing-like gravel that litters the surface, make it one of the most challenging of the year where tree-lined stages demand millimeter perfect driving. Front-running Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution driver Fumio Nutahara is looking forward to the rally following his podium finish last year. The Japanese made some set-up changes to the suspension on this mornings final test and is running on a new tire for the event, which he is confident could help his performance to score valuable points. The shakedown stage here is better than many shakedown roads as in places it is similar to the rally stages, so it is quite a good judge, explained Nutahara. The suspension wasnt so good this morning but we have made some changes. Our tires are also a different construction to before with a harder compound and side construction and I think they will be good here, especially as it can be easy to get punctures. The PWRC has been very competitive this year; personally I would love to win or if not to finish on the podium, but I think Arai, Al-Attiyah and Ligato will all be very difficult to beat, especially as they are all fighting for the championship. Also driving for FIA PWRC points are fellow Lancer Evolution drivers Federico Villagra, Riccardo Errani and Fabio Frisiero. Following a final pre-event shakedown test, Argentine Villagra said: The stages here are not bad but I think having good notes is the most important factor. In my national championship we run on Silverstone tires and even though we normally use Pirellis in the PWRC, we are using Silverstones here as a test for the future. This is my first time in Australia so I will be driving like I did in Japan - simply to finish, gain experience for next year and improve my notes. The start of the event takes place at Perths spectator-friendly 2.35 kilometer super special stage tonight, where crews will complete two runs. Friday sees the contenders head south for the first seven forest stages before returning to the city for another double run around the super special stage. Auto Racing Daily |