Finland's Tommi Makinen, driving a Mitsubishi, has won the Rally of Portugal, the third round of the World Rally Championship.
He finished ahead of Spain's Carlos Sainz in a Ford Focus and now leads in the world championship.
Makinen, four-times world champion, had to fight all the way, however, after Sainz had made up a 13 seconds overnight deficit and took the leadby just a fraction of a second going into the final special stage.
"I chose tires best suited for the final stage, but they were not the best for the one which preceded it," said Makinen.
His tactics worked out perfect, edging eight seconds ahead of Sainz, with reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm of Finland driving his Peugeotinto third place.
Next came England's Richard Burns in a Subaru Impreza followed by Francois Delecour of France (Ford Focus) and Scotland's Alistair McRae(Hyundai Accent).
Makinen's triumph, his second in Portugal after 1997, was all the more impressive given the terrible conditions that played havoc with the drivingover the three days.
Fog, heavy rain and mud left the roads treacherous and forced organisers to cancel four of the 22 scheduled specials.
Makinen's win hoisted him to the top of the world championship standings with a four points lead over Sainz.
AFP