Rallying: Finn set for asphalt jungle

Tommi Makinen of Finland, the reigning world champion, heads into Monday's Catalunya Rally in Lloret del Mar, the fifth round of the championship, locked in a thrilling three-way battle with Britain's Colin McRae, who won this rally last year, and Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

Makinen took the lead in the title race with victory in Portugal three weeks ago and is confident his Mitsubishi will be suited to the asphalt stages after recent testing.

"I think we can do very well in this event, because the surface is very similar to the Portuguese Rally," he said. "I like the roads here a lot and our car performs very well on Tarmac."

The 1,359-kilometre route takes the teams north of the base for the first and final days, with the second leg making use of the fast roads around Prades and Escaladei to the south-west.