Auriol shines in China victory

Sunshine burst through almost on queue as Frenchman Didier Auriol completed a brilliant victory in the 555 China Rally yesterday in a performance reminiscent of his best drives in 1994 when he won the world championship.

The runaway 55.8-second victory in his Toyota Team Castrol Corolla also catapulted him into joint leadership in the World Rally Championship driver's title with Finland's Tommi Makinen. The reigning champion's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo came to a sudden halt on the final stage of the second day when the car's front suspension gave way after hitting a rock.

Regarded by many to be beyond his best at 41, Auriol silenced his detractors with a stellar performance in atrocious and often dangerous conditions during the past three days in this mountainous lake resort region, 70 kilometres north of Beijing.

Asked if it was the toughest rally he has ever contested, Auriol said: 'Yes, the conditions were the worst I have seen. It was a good result for me. You get a feeling with your car and in your mind.' The victory broke a 17-month drought and moved Auriol to an aggregate 19 wins in the WRC, third on the all-time list behind Finland's three-time world champion Juha Kankkunen (23) and two-time champion, Carlos Sainz of Spain (22).

Rising talent Richard Burns was left to lament a wrong choice of tyres on his Subaru World Rally Team Impreza after he was poised to overtake Auriol after trailing by only 10.7 seconds overnight.

As early morning rain gave way to overcast skies and finally sunshine, Burns found himself on a set of tyres that were good in the mud but progressively harder to handle as the stages dried out.