Dakar - Mitsubishi becomes the most successful manufacturer
Jan-16 2005 / 12:58 EST

- Fifth successive victory for Mitsubishi Motors Team in Dakar Rally

DAKAR, Senegal - The Mitsubishi Motors Repsol ATS Studios Team won the Dakar Rally for a record-breaking 10th time, when Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret steered their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution to victory at Lac Rose in Senegal.

Mitsubishi's long experience of off-road racing experience came to the forefront, when the Japanese manufacturer clinched a fifth successive victory in the world s most difficult off-road rally. Peterhansel's team mate Luc Alphand and co-driver Gilles Picard made it an emphatic 1-2 for the Mitsubishi Motors team by taking the runner-up position in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution. In the 27-year history of the world's most famous off-road rally no manufacturer of cars, bikes and trucks can match the Japanese company's winning record.

Akira Kijima, Managing Director Head of Product Operations for Mitsubishi Motors and responsible for motor sport activities, said: "I am proud that we were able to achieve the first ever fifth successive victory on one of the toughest events in the world.

"Mitsubishi Motors involvement in motor sport is not merely a promotional activity, but is really at the heart of the Mitsubishi Motors brand. We strive to take our cars to the limits of performance by competing in such events as the Dakar and the World Rally Championship (WRC) and feed the technology and know-how acquired directly back into all of our production cars. This ensures that our production vehicles not only have improved durability and safety, but also good road performance and driving capability.

"Mitsubishi cars have long been known for their sturdiness, endurance and robustness and it is these qualities that are derived from our motor sport participation. We intend to strengthen motor sport activities and, in so doing, raise the value of the Mitsubishi Motors brand."

"I am very proud of the hard work put in by the entire team," said Isao Torii, President of MMSP. "When I visited Atar at the half-way point I saw the appalling working conditions that the whole team had faced and it is a testament to their determination that we have achieved this superb success."

Mitsubishi's Peterhansel took the lead as the event headed across the wastelands of Mauritania and won from the front over the remaining special stages through Mali and Senegal. Team mate Alphand shadowed him to the finish on his debut with the Mitsubishi team and Spaniard Joan Roma the winner last year on a motorcycle - finished sixth overall in the third Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution.

Twice former winner Hiroshi Masuoka, from Japan, had been one of the pre-event favourites with German co-driver Andreas Schulz. But he was withdrawn from the race in Atar after delays cost him valuable time. The team duly took the decision to concentrate resources on the three surviving cars, but Masuoka had been running as low as 124th position before climbing back to sixth overall at the time of his retirement.

Germany's Andrea Mayer and French co-driver Jean-Michel Polato were forced out of the race after a stone damaged the crankshaft sensor in their Mitsubishi L200 Pick-Up.

The co-driver attempted to repair the damage, but team management reached the decision to withdraw the car from the race in Atar rather than overstretch the support team which was preparing to leave for another bivouac.

The event began in Barcelona on New Year's Eve and took place over 15 timed special stages in five countries. Mitsubishi won five timed sections, with Peterhansel winning four and Alphand taking the fastest time through the Tidjikja to Atar section.

Overall final classification after SS16:

1. Stephane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 52h 31m 39s
2. Luc Alphand (F)/Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 52h 58m 53s
3. Jutta Kleinschmidt (D)/Fabrizia Pons (I) Volkswagen Touareg 55h 53m 39s
4. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Jean-Marie Lurquin (B) Nissan Pick-Up 56h 34m 15s
5. Bruno Saby (F)/Michel Perin (F) Volkswagen Touareg 61h 15m 53s
6. Joan Roma (E)/Henri Magne (AND) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 61h 51m 16s
7. Carlos Sousa (P)/Thierry Delli-Zotti (F) Nissan Pick-Up 62h 34m 08s
8. Thierry Magnaldi (F)/Jean-Paul Forthomme (B) Honda Buggy 63h 35m 23s

Ralliart customer Kolberg takes 17th overall

DAKAR, Senegal - Mitsubishi Ralliart team mates Klever Kolberg and Rouldan Lourival completed the 8,956 kms Dakar Rally in 17th place overall at the wheel of the first of three surviving Mitsubishi Ralliart customer cars, who had set out from Barcelona on New Year s Day.

"It was a long, hard race this year," said Kolberg. "We had a few small problems on the way, but settled into a good pace over the last few stages and I set the sixth fastest time on one section."

The French duo of Dominique Housieaux and Loic Fagot wrecked the suspension and broke the wishbone on their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero on the stage between Kayes and Tambacounda, but managed to reach the finish in 55th position.

"I was running well over the last few days until we had the accident," said Housieaux. "It was very annoying to lose so much time so close to the end, but when you see Lac Rose and realise that you have made it to the finish of the Dakar it is a sweet feeling."

Polish team mate Krzysztof Holowczyc and Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin lost over 17 hours on the stage between Zouerat and Tichit in Mauritania, when they ran out of fuel around 30 kilometers from the stage finish. They eventually overcame persistent brake problems to finish 60th overall.

"It was a fantastic new experience for me to take part in the Dakar," said Holowczyc. "It was so different to any race that I had done before and maybe I should have gained some experience before I came here. I have learned many things about driving in the dunes and in the sand. Obviously I felt more comfortable on the faster and more technical stage, like those you find in the WRC and it was quite a shock to be driving for several hundred kilometers each day. I have been used to much shorter stages in the past."

Three of the nine original Ralliart teams finished one of the most difficult Dakar rallies of recent years. Russians Alexey Berkut and Anton Nikolaev were forced to retire on the stage from Atar to Kiffa, when the cylinder head gasket failed in their Mitsubishi L200 Pick-Up. The car was later repaired at the Kiffa bivouac and driven to the finish in Dakar.

Dutchman Toni van Deijne was forced out with transmission problems on the Atar to Kiffa stage. Chinese driver Guan Yuang Men s introduction to the Dakar was a dramatic one. Along with French co-driver Serge Henninot, he survived a low-speed roll only to become stranded in the stage between Zouerat and Tichit when the gearbox failed. The pair spend three nights and two days in the desert before the organizers sent a helicopter to collect them.

"An aeroplane dropped us some food and water and acknowledged that we were with the car and safe," said Men. "We just had enough rations to keep us going until the helicopter picked us up. The gearbox had broken and we were just stuck in the middle of nowhere, helpless to do anything until assistance arrived. We slept for three nights on the sand by the car. It was a scary and very unusual experience."

Swiss driver Arnold Meier was forced out before Tichit. Meier had a minor rear differential problem and decided to withdraw at the first passage control into Tichit. Thailand s Siriwattanakun Pornsawan lost over 10 minutes in the stage into Agadir when he was forced to stop in the dust of a slower competitor. But the Mitsubishi Truck Evolution driver s luck turned ran out when he complained of severe back pain at the team s hotel in Agadir and was forced to withdraw from the event with a back injury.

There was disappointment for the Portuguese driver Francisco Inocencio and his co-driver Joao Luz. A diesel pressure pump problem had prevented them from starting the opening Barcelona stage on New Year's Eve.