since 1976
since 1976
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) announced that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, which receives technical support from Mitsubishi Motors, participated in the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) 2022 that ran from November 21st to 26th in Thailand and Cambodia with Triton rally cars (Group T1 prototype cross-country vehicles). Over a total distance of 1,524 kilometers (km), including 637 km of timed special stages (SS), driver Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) finished in first place overall, with a total time of 8 hours, 22 minutes and 42 seconds, and driver Rifat Sungkar (Indonesia) finished in fifth position, with 17 minutes and 14 seconds behind the leader.
After a three-year absence, the AXCR got under way on the 21st in Buriram in the northeastern part of Thailand, where the first SS of the rally and a ceremonial start were held. Leg 1 on the 22nd to Leg 3 on the 24th included SS located in the area around Buriram. Leg 4 on the 25th saw the rally cross the border into Cambodia after finishing the SS around Buriram, while Leg 5 on the 26th ended at the spectacular ceremonial goal near Angkor Wat, the famed tourist attraction in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The first half of the rally in Thailand consisted mainly of high-speed stages on rough, dry unpaved roads, while the second half was more challenging with large, deep puddles scattered on muddy roads caused by heavy rain, and a tougher course compared to the previous five stages awaited the participants in Cambodia.
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. Key to it all was the tremendous support from our sponsors and the passionate messages of support we received from fans around the world. 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."
AXCR 2022 Auto Category Overall Results
| 1st | Chayapon Yotha (Mitsubishi Triton) |
8:22:42 |
2nd |
Jaras Jaengkamolkulchai (Toyota Hilux Revo) |
8:28:29 |
3rd |
Ikuo Hanawa (Toyota Fortuner) |
8:28:34 |
4th |
Takuma Aoki (Toyota Fortuner) |
8:38:26 |
5th |
Rifat Sungkar (Mitsubishi Triton) |
8:39:56 |
6th |
Tawee Neanna (Isuzu D-Max) |
8:51:24 |
