Mitsubishi Dominates the Asia Cross Country Rally 2022 with a Ralliart Triton Pickup Truck

Does anyone remember the rally days of Mitsubishi Motors? For those that don’t know, when Mitsubishi first came to America, the automaker introduced themselves as a rally race car producer. With the sports and racing group Ralliart pumping out high-performance vehicles like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, there was a time where Mitsubishi could run circles around other models. In recent years, the automaker has leaned more into its SUV lineup, but continues to surprise when it enters rally races like the Rebelle Rally, where the automaker has had some success. With Ralliart special editions coming out for several vehicles in the lineup, consumers wonder if it’s just the beginning for the return of Ralliart sports cars. Maybe, maybe not, but one thing is clear – Ralliart models still conquer, and the recent Asia Cross Country Rally 2022 is proof of that, where Mitsubishi entered two models and won first and fifth place.

Crazy, right? Well, not that crazy. The automaker has a long history of winning multiple championships, such as the World Rally Championship (WRC) for four years in a row from 1996 – 1999, driven by rally driver Tommi Maikinen. With a rich history of winning rally races, entering the Asia Cross Country Rally 2022 isn’t anything new for the automaker, but it is the first time Mitsubishi has entered this specific race. So to win with two vehicles during its first attempt is enough to wow just about anyone. The Asia Cross Country Rally 2022 starts in Thailand and stretched across 637 km to the finish line in Cambodia. What awaits drivers is high-speed stages on rough, dry unpaved roads in Thailand, followed by muddy roads and a mess of puddles, and ending with five timed special stages in Cambodia. To get through all of that, a driver needs a high-performance vehicle to land in the winner’s circle.

In first place came driver Chayapon Yotha (Thailand), with a total time of 8 hours, 22 minutes and 42 seconds. Following close behind was driver Rifat Sungkar (Indonesia), who finished in fifth position, with 17 minutes and 14 seconds. It’s a bit of a stretch between the two drivers, but they both really showed off the true performance of the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck. Oh, does the name sound unfamiliar? It should, since the Triton is a midsize pickup truck only available overseas. A shame, really, especially with the midsize pickup truck segment starting to open back up in America, but Mitsubishi Motors is a little timid to try anything new with its current problems in the European market. A lot of fine-tuning went into getting the pickup truck rally race ready, and it really shows when it comes to conquering the Asia Cross Country Rally 2022 on the first try.

Hiroshi Masuoka, team director of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, commented:

“For this year’s AXCR, we built on the high reliability and durability of the Triton by tuning the engine and chassis, and entered the rally with specifications relatively close to the production car. Even so, the two Triton rally cars delivered powerful driving, and I am very proud of our high finish. The superb performance came down to the drivers, who were able to extract the Triton’s performance and show us some great drives, the engineers who worked every day to fine-tune the vehicles perfectly, all the staff who provided support, and the know-how that Mitsubishi Motors has accumulated over the years. We would like to feed the knowledge we gained through our participation in the AXCR back into the development of production vehicles, and build Mitsubishi vehicles that are even tougher, more powerful, and more reliable.”

Mitsubishi Motors has hinted at the possibility of bringing back Ralliart sports cars depending on how well Ralliart models do in the coming years and how well the market receives them. Some of it falls upon the consumers and if sales for Ralliart vehicles proves investment-worthy. The rest depends on the performance of Ralliart vehicles, and if this rally in Asia holds any weight, it would seem that Mitsubishi Motors still definitely knows what it’s doing when it comes to rally race cars. Hey, here’s hoping the automaker pulls away from an SUV dominated lineup and finally gives us the sports car we’re waiting on.

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Photo Source/Copyright: Mitsubishi Media