NAIROBI (Kenya), July 12: Finn Tommi Makinen made the perfect start to his defence of the Safari Rally Friday as he opened up a commanding lead after the first two stages.

Subaru driver Makinen was quickest on the opening stage, ‘Ngema’, and holds a one minute and 22.9 seconds lead over Ford’s Briton Colin McRae, who was quickest on the second test, ‘Seyabei 1’.

Makinen, who won the event last year with Mitsubishi, made the best start on the demanding Kenyan gravel roads and was even slowed by his team to avoid potential problems.

Ford’s McRae was almost eight seconds quicker than four-time world champion Makinen on ‘Seyabei 1’ as the Finn set the second-best time.

Skoda’s Swede Kenneth Eriksson is third overall behind the pair after a consistent start, but is two minutes and 26 seconds down. Spaniard Carlos Sainz is fourth for Ford.

Championship leader Finn Marcus Gronholm was the first casualty as he retired minutes into ‘Ngema’ with his Peugeot suffering terminal engine failure.

Belgian Freddy Loix also failed to reach the end of the opening test as clutch failure struck his Hyundai, while Peugeot’s Frenchman Gilles Panizzi lost 24 minutes because of a puncture.

Loix’s team-mate German Armin Schwarz joined the list of retirements before the second stage when his Hyundai suffered alternator failure on the road section to the test.

The drivers tackle two further stages on Friday’s opening leg with the demanding 106.56-kilometre ‘Ntulele’ test completing the day before an overnight stop in Nairobi.

The Rally lived up to its billing as the toughest event of the world championship season with Friday’s opening day claiming no fewer than a dozen casualties.

World championship points leader Marcus Gronholm of Finland failed to break his jinx here after his Peugeot 206 engine seized in the first stage at Ngema, some 70 kilometres north of Nairobi.

The Hyundai team, competing in their first ever Safari Rally, suffered a doulbe blow when their top drivers, Armin Schwarz of Germany and Belgium’s Fred Loix, were also forced to retire in the killer stage.

Schwarz lost the turbo boost pressure on his car after just 12 kilometres of the competitive stage while Loix retired when his clutch failed.

Other early victims included Mitsubishi drivers Francois Delecour of France and Jean-Pierre Richelmi.

The rally suffered its first accident when Kenyans Shanawaz Murji and Mo Verjee hit a ditch and rolled in their Subaru. Both were rushed to hospital with back injuries.

Leading positions 1. Tommi Makinen (Finland) Subaru 1 hour 14 minutes 08.8 seconds 2. Colin McRae (Britain) Ford 1:22.9 3. Kenneth Eriksson (Sweden) Skoda 2:26.9 4. Carlos Sainz (Spain) Ford 2:31.5 5. Harri Rovanpera (Finland) Peugeot 2:45.8 6. Toni Gardemeister (Finland) Skoda 2:46.4 7. Thomas Radstrom (Sweden) Citroen 3:05.6 8. Markko Martin (Estonia) Ford 5:06.2 9. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 6:40.5 10. Richard Burns (Britain) Peugeot 6:48.3—Reuters