French driver wins China Rally

Sunday, Sept. 19, 1999 | 11:30 a.m.

In a race that finished at the foot of the Great Wall, Auriol widened his lead over Britain's Richard Burns and won in 3 hours, 38 minutes, 36.6 seconds.

Makinen, seeking his fourth straight world title, pulled out of the China Rally after his rear suspension failed Saturday, the second of the race's three legs.

This was the first year the China Rally was part of the world championship series. Persistent rain and the treacherous, rocky course of 230 miles took a heavy toll. Only 25 of the 67 cars that started the rally finished.

Starting Sunday with a lead of less than 11 seconds, Auriol, driving a Toyota, had the fastest times on five of the six stages despite the morning's rain. He reached the finish line outside Beijing 55.8 seconds ahead of Burns and his Subaru.

"Honestly, it is difficult to describe just how slippery it has been on the stages," Auriol said. "We knew when we came here that it would be rough, important to keep out of trouble and not make any mistakes."

Carlos Sainz of Spain, also a Toyota driver, took third 2 minutes, 19.4 seconds behind Auriol. Finland's Juha Kankkunen finished fourth, 2 minutes, 58.7 seconds behind Sainz.