Career
As of 1999 he lived in both Monaco and Jyväskylä, married, with two children. Mäkinen is one of the most successful WRC drivers of all time, ranking second in championships (4), tied with Juha Kankkunen and behind Sébastien Loeb (9), and fifth in wins (24). He also aided Mitsubishi to the 1998 world constructors" title as well as winning the 2000 Race of Champions.
In 2000, despite opening his campaign with victory on the January Monte Carlo Rally, Mäkinen finally relinquished his grasp on the title, being beaten in the standings by new title holder and fellow Finn, Marcus Grönholm.
That year Mitsubishi produced a "Tommi Mäkinen edition" of the road version of the Lancer Evolution VI to commemorate his previous title successes. This car had a different front bumper than the regular Evolution VI, while some models also featured a red and white paint job to closely resemble Mäkinen"s rally car.
Mäkinen remained with Mitsubishi until the end of the 2001 season, having finished third in that year"s standings behind Burns and McRae, by now respectively drivers for Subaru and Ford - but not before the inauspicious introduction of team"s first ever World Rally Carolina on the San Remo Rally. Mäkinen and team-mate Freddy Loix struggled with the car before the Finn"s crash on the mountainside roads of the following round in Corsica was responsible for breaking co-driver Mannisenmäki"s back and in doing so, virtually ended his top-line career.
The Finn was forced to fare with substitute co-drivers for the remaining events in Australia (with Timo Hantunen) and Great Britain, the latter of which he retired from, helping Burns to claim the championship.
But his form then took a dive and he was not to add again to his tally of world titles. He retired from the sport at the end of the 2003 season with third place on that year"s Rally Great Britain.
