Loix heads the Mitsubishi assault in fifth.

Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets lead the Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart assault in the Rally of Cyprus, the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The Belgian duo hold fifth position in their Mitsubishi Carisma GT, in contrast to team-mates Tommi Makinen and Risto Mannisenmaki who were forced into a disappointing and uncharacteristic retirement in stage four. Katsuhiko Taguchi and Derek Ringer, driving a third team entry, hold a fine 13th in their Lancer Evolution.

Early morning cloudless blue skies signalled the makings of a scorching day for the opening leg to the northwest of Limassol. Even as the leading crews took the start in front of a huge crowd of holidaymakers at 08:00 hrs, temperatures were topping 25 degrees Centigrade in the coastal resort, guaranteeing a physically exhausting 138 competitive kilometres for the 76 contenders.

Road conditions have also been frustrating for the crews leading the way, the dry and dusty roads cleaning significantly and providing a marked advantage to those running further down the field.

The thousands of spectators who have poured into the stages have not been disappointed by the action however, despite stones and choking dust being thrown up by the cars and the searing heat in the Troodos Mountains that overlook the Mediterranean.

Tommi Makinen, Championship leader and therefore heading the field in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, was disadvantaged the most and instantly lost handfuls of time to his rivals as he fought through the loose surface gravel. His assault was short-lived however when he and Risto were forced out, having slid wide and gone too far off the road to continue. "It was about one kilometre into stage four and we slid wide on a 90-right third-gear corner," commented Makinen. "We spun and then the car just dropped about 10 metres down a bank. There was no chance to get back on the road, even though the car was very driveable; it's just stuck. It was very slippy and being first car there was a lot of loose gravel on the surface," he added. "As we watched some of the other cars go past in that stage, you could instantly see the grip was getting better, so running first we really got the worst of the conditions and suffered a lot."

Team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets, who set a share of the fastest times in this event last year, have been running well in their Carisma GT, underlining their competitiveness in this rough and rocky Mediterranean island event. With temperatures in the mountainous stages registering 38 degrees Centigrade, and in-car conditions hovering around a suffocating 55 degrees, the day has been tough and finding a balance between speed and tyre wear has been of paramount importance.

"The last two stages today were a bit easier than the others and I have a good feeling with the car," commented Loix. "We have a good position for the road tomorrow as well, I think. We didn't really push too hard during the day and I think that strategy has paid off. The twisty stages are quite difficult with our car, but with the exception of the fuel tank problem, we've had no technical difficulties and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Katsuhiko Taguchi and 1995 World Champion co-driver Derek Ringer have maintained a steady pace in the team's third car, the Japanese driver determined to gain experience outside Asia and finish the rally at all costs. Despite some spins during the day, they hold 13th in their Lancer Evolution in the first World Championship rally Katsuhiko has contested and his first in Europe.

"I can't really complain about today, I'm very happy to finish and get to service," said Taguchi. "We backed off a bit to save the tyres on the penultimate stage because the last one was narrow, rough and longer. Tomorrow we just try to pick up the pace a bit more, with the safety though."

Today's leg has seen the retirement not only of Makinen, but also Peugeot's Swedish Rally winner, Harri Rovanpera and French team-mate Gilles Panizzi, Subaru's Petter Solberg and FIA Teams' Cup driver and Group N Middle East Champion Hamed Al Wahaibi. While many of the other official contenders have hit trouble during the day, they will all re-start the second leg on Saturday that takes them directly to the north for another eight stages and 106 competitive kilometres.