Team Mitsubishi RALLIART’s victorious return

A Team Mitsubishi RALLIART Triton AXCR has taken outright victory on debut, with Thai driver, Chayapon Yotha, and co-driver, Peerapong Sombutwong, completing the gruelling Asia Cross Country Rally 2022 in first place after six days of competitive rallying.

Yotha piloted his #105 Triton AXCR across wildly varied surfaces, ranging from rough, rutted dirt to deep mud, completing the six stages in a time of 8:22.42.

“It was a very tough battle over the six days, but I am very happy to take the overall victory,” said Yotha.

“To win among rivals with larger engine displacements, I concentrated on reducing mistakes thoroughly and completing each corner and stage carefully. We were able to achieve good results in this rally because of the excellent handling performance of the Triton. It was very easy to control, allowing me to follow the line as I intended in any road surface condition; tarmac, gravel or mud,” he said.

Sungkar said he enjoyed participating in a cross-country rally for the first time and was relieved to have finished all the stages safely.

“This experience has allowed me to find issues that I need to work on, both in terms of my skills and the rally car. Once again, I felt that Triton is a truly tough, durable, and reliable car. It is amazing that we were able to fight through the rally with an almost production car,” he said.

Hiroshi Masuoka, team director (pictured below), was impressed by the team’s performance, as Mitsubishi returned to motorsport under the legendary RALLIART name.

“This was our first attempt to return to the motorsports scene under the name of RALLIART, and it was a very important rally for Mitsubishi Motors,” he said.

“I thought that it would be good enough for us to finish in upper rankings, but I am very happy that the team has taken an overall victory. The mechanics and engineers brought the Triton to the course in perfect condition every day, and the drivers and co-drivers brought out the best performance from the Triton.

“This victory was the result of teamwork and know-how that Mitsubishi Motors has accumulated over the years.

“Team Mitsubishi RALLIART will consider the possibility of coming back again next year and will fully prepare our team structure and the rally cars. We would like to thank all of our fans and sponsors for their great support,” he said.