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Company type | Division |
---|---|
Industry | Motorsport Automotive engineering |
Founded | April 1984 |
Headquarters | 33-7 Shiba 5-Chome, Minato, Tokyo 108-0014 |
Key people | Andrew Cowan (founder) Doug Stewart (founder) Masao Taguchi (President, Executive Director) |
Revenue | ¥4,462 million (2005) |
Parent | Mitsubishi Motors |
Ralliart is the high-performance division of Mitsubishi Motors. It was responsible for development and preparation of the company's rally development of high-performance models and parts available to the public. Ralliart scaled down its business activities in April 2010, [1] though the brand will continue to be used by Mitsubishi.
Many regional licensees were set up previously. Ralliart Europe was established as Andrew Cowan Motorsports (ACMS) Ltd in 1983 by Andrew Cowan, a driver with the Mitsubishi team who had scored their first international victory in 1972 at the Southern Cross Rally. [2] His team mate at the same event in 1975 and '76, Doug Stewart, set-up Ralliart Australia as the official regional licensee in 1988, after 22 years of experience with the company's cars. [3] The two have subsequently served as operational bases for Mitsubishi's global motorsport activities, and were responsible for MMC's record of achievement in off-road racing, including the 1998 Manufacturers' Championship in the World Rally Championship, four individual Drivers' Championships for Tommi Mäkinen in 1996–99, and a record twelve wins in the Dakar Rally since 1982.
The company established Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports in Trebur, Germany in November 2002, [4] and then consolidated the previously independent licensees under this umbrella in 2003, acquiring ACMS Ltd from Cowan while Mitsubishi Motors Australia took over Stewart's operation. [5] [6]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2010) |
On May 13, 2021, Mitsubishi executives announced that they would bring back Ralliart as part of a plan.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2010) |
In 2003, MMSP also purchased the Pont-de-Vaux-based SBM operation, which had been responsible for its cross country rallying activities, to form MMSP SAS.
The team used the Mitsubishi Pajero to win the Dakar Rally every year between 2004 and 2007. After the 2008 running was cancelled, the team developed a new car, the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer, for 2009, but struggled, losing the race to rivals Volkswagen. In 2009, Mitsubishi withdrew from cross-country competition.
In late 2009, Frenchman Nicolas Misslin acquired MMSP SAS and renamed it JMB Stradale Off Road.
Mitsubishi rally driver Andrew Cowan set up Andrew Cowan Motorsports (ACMS) in 1983 as a European base for Mitsubishi's motorsports activities. Based in Rugby, Warwickshire, it evolved into Ralliart Europe, with support from Mitsubishi's high performance division.
Ralliart Europe entered the World Rally Championship full-time for the first time in 1989, with the Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. The car won in the hands of Mikael Ericsson in Finland and Pentti Airikkala in Great Britain. Mitsubishi finished fourth in the manufacturers' standings in 1989, and third in 1990. Kenneth Eriksson delivered the team its next victory in Sweden in 1991.
The team introduced the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution for the 1993 season, but did not manage to win during the year and only scored two podium finishes. The team developed the Lancer Evolution II and introduced it half-way through the 1994 season, Armin Schwarz scoring a second-placed finish on the cars debut in Greece. The car took its first victory on the following year's Rally Sweden, with Kenneth Eriksson leading home Tommi Mäkinen.
The Lancer Evolution III was soon introduced, and enjoyed great success in hand of Eriksson in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Mitsubishi's main focus at the time. Eriksson took the Evolution III to victory on the 1995 Rally Australia, a round of both championships. He finished the WRC season in third place in the standings behind the dominant Subaru World Rally Team pairing of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, after the Toyota Castrol Team pairing of Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol were excluded from the championship for running illegal turbo restrictors. In 1996, Mäkinen won five out of the nine rounds to win the Drivers' Championship.
The Lancer Evolution IV was introduced for the start of the 1997 season. Mäkinen won four out of 14 rallies to win his and Mitsubishi's second drivers' title. The car won the second and third rounds of the 1998 season, before being replaced by the Lancer Evolution V for the fifth round in Spain. As their rivals Subaru and Ford were competing with the new World Rally Car spec, Mitsubishi continued to develop their cars to the old Group A regulations. Mäkinen took the car to victory in Argentina, which then won the final four events of the season, allowing Mäkinen to win a third straight title, while Mitsubishi were finally able to take their first manufacturers' title, thanks to two victories from Richard Burns.
The team introduced the Lancer Evolution VI for the opening round of the 1999, complete with sponsorship from Marlboro. Mäkinen won in Monte Carlo on the car's debut and then again on the next round in Sweden. He picked up further wins in New Zealand and Sanremo to record a then record fourth consecutive drivers' title. In 2000, the team struggled against their rivals and their World Rally Cars, Mäkinen only winning once and finishing fifth in the standings.
Mäkinen managed to win three times in 2001, until Mitsubishi introduced the Lancer WRC in Sanremo, having continued running to the old Group A regulations even though their rivals began working with the new WRC regulations from 1997. Both Mäkinen and teammate Freddy Loix struggled with the new car, before Mäkinen suffered a heavy accident that injured his co-driver Risto Mannisenmäki. Two retirements and a sixth-placed finish from the final three rallies meant that Mäkinen missed out on winning the title.
Mäkinen left the team for Subaru for 2002, so François Delecour and Alister McRae were signed to replace him and Loix, who had moved to Hyundai. Both struggled with the car though, McRae managed a fifth-place finish on Rally Sweden, but those were the only points the team would score all season. The team finished last in the manufacturers' points, behind Skoda and Hyundai. Mitsubishi would not compete during the 2003 season as Mitsubishi restructured their motorsports activities.
Mitsubishi consolidated their racing activities in 2003, acquiring ACMS Ltd from Cowan while Mitsubishi Motors Australia took over Stewart's operation. [5] [6] This followed the formation of Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports (MMSP) GmbH in Trebur, Germany in November 2002. [4]
The team signed experienced driver Gilles Panizzi to lead its lineup, and signed the less-experienced trio of Kristian Sohlberg, Gigi Galli and Daniel Solà to share its second car. Panizzi managed to score points on three occasions before the team reduced its programme after ten of 14 rounds, switching their focus to developing their 2005 car. The team did compete on Rally Catalunya, where both Sola and Galli finished in sixth and seventh place respectively.
Mitsubishi returned in 2005 with a developed car, the Lancer WRC05, and had signed Harri Rovanperä to drive one car on all 16 rallies, with Panizzi and Galli sharing the second car. Galli would be entered in a third car on selected events. Panizzi scored Mitsubishi's first podium finish since 2001 on the first event of the season, Monte Carlo. Rovanperä was a regular points scorer, finishing second on Rally Australia, to finish the season seventh in the drivers' standings. Galli scored points on six occasions. Mitsubishi finished fifth in the manufacturers' standings, ahead of Skoda.
At the end of 2005, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation suspended its participation in the WRC. MMSP Ltd supported Galli's Lancer WRC05 entry for the two opening rounds of 2006, in association with Ralliart Italy.
MMSP Ltd. ran two Lancer WRC05s for Toni Gardemeister and Xavier Pons on the first three rounds of the 2007 season, as well as a third car for Juho Hänninen on round three in Norway. It also ran Gardemeister on round five in Portugal alongside Armindo Araujo, and ran Gardemeister and Hänninen in Italy. It ran Urmo Aava in Greece, Finland and New Zealand, the Estonian scoring points in Finland and New Zealand.
In February 2009, MMSP Ltd operations manager John Easton completed a buy-out of the Rugby-based company to form MML Sports Ltd. [7]
Mitsubishi continues to use the Ralliart name both to sell aftermarket components and as a "halo" brand for higher-performance editions of many of its models. [8] [9] Many of the regional licensees continue to operate. Ralliart Italy prepares Mitsubishi rally cars for Armindo Araujo and the Pirelli Star Drivers in the Production World Rally Championship (PWRC). Ralliart China hold the brand rights for the China territory. Their head office is in Hong Kong but has facilities in different cities within China. They construct competition vehicles to be used in the China Rally Championship and China Cross Country Rally Championship, sell competition parts, manage teams and offer technical consultancy to its clients.
In 2012 Benito Guerra Jr. won in México, Argentina and España rallies, plus a second place in Germany, clinching the PWRC world championship in doing so. [10]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Car | Tyres | Class | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Mitsubishi FTO | T | GT300 | 61 | Akihiko Nakaya Takahiko Hara | SUZ 3 | FUJ C | SEN 7 | FUJ Ret | MOT Ret | MIN 6 | SUG 2 | NC1 Ret | 5th | 37 |
1999 | Mitsubishi FTO | T | GT300 | 61 | Ralph Firman Akihiko Nakaya Rubén Derfler | SUZ 2 | FUJ Ret | SUG 5 | MIN Ret | FUJ 3 | OKA 8 | MOT 7 | NC1 | 6th | 42 |
The World Rally Championship is an international rallying series owned and governed by the FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the second oldest of the FIA's world championships after Formula One. Each season lasts one calendar year, and separate championship titles are awarded to drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers. There are also two support championships, WRC2 and WRC3, which are contested on the same events and stages as the WRC, but with progressively lower maximum performance and running costs of the cars permitted. Junior WRC is also contested on five events of the World Rally Championship calendar.
Richard Alexander Burns was an English rally driver who won the 2001 World Rally Championship, having previously finished runner-up in the series in 1999 and 2000. He also helped Mitsubishi to the world manufacturers' title in 1998, and Peugeot in 2002. His co-driver in his whole career was Robert Reid. He is the only Englishman to have won the World Rally Championship as a driver.
The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the 'Evo', is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a Roman numeral. All generations use two-litre intercooled turbo inline four-cylinder engines and all-wheel drive systems.
Tommi Antero Mäkinen is a Finnish racing executive and former rally driver.
Kenneth Eriksson is a now retired World Rally Championship rally driver. He drove for several manufacturer teams, including the Subaru World Rally Team, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Škoda. He was the 1986 Group A Champion in the competition's only year, his best performance, overshadowed by the fatalities that occurred in that season.
Toni Gardemeister is a Finnish professional rally driver in the World Rally Championship. After previously competing for SEAT's, Mitsubishi's, Škoda's and Ford's factory teams, as well as for privateer teams, he joined the Suzuki World Rally Team for the 2008 season.
Henning Solberg is a Norwegian rally and rallycross driver. Together with his female co-driver Ilka Minor, he currently competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) with cars of M-Sport.
Gilles Panizzi is a French former rally driver.
Alister McRae is a British rally driver from Scotland who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae, and older brother of property entrepreneur Stuart McRae. His uncle Hugh "Shug" Steele is also a former rally driver.
Manfred Stohl is an Austrian rally driver who debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1991. Stohl's co-driver is fellow Austrian Ilka Minor.
Gianluigi Galli, better known as Gigi Galli, is an Italian rally driver, best known for his spectacular driving style. He comes from, and lives in, Livigno, Italy.
The 1997 World Rally Championship was the 25th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season saw many changes in the championship. Most notably, Group A was partially replaced by the World Rally Car with manufacturers given the option which regulations to construct to. One inherent benefit to manufacturers by adopting WRC regulations was removing the need to mass-produce road-going versions of the cars that they competed with, under the previous rules for homologation. This meant that vehicles such as the Escort RS Cosworth and Subaru Impreza Turbo no longer had to be mass-produced for general sale in order to compete at World Championship level, and thus acting as a means of attracting increased competition and involvement by manufacturers. In the few years that follow, the Championship saw the added presence of WRC cars from companies such as Toyota, Hyundai, Seat, Citroën, and Peugeot, who would all compete under WRC regulations without having to manufacture equivalent specialised road cars for public sale. Both Ford and Subaru switched to WRC in 1997, except Mitsubishi who stayed with Group A to maintain the links to their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution road cars. Subaru's transition was much more gradual for similar reasons with the early Subaru Impreza WRCs still largely Group A in nature.
Andrew Cowan was a Scottish rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005.
The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises both gravel and closed surface rallies.
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Juho Ville Matias Hänninen is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion and 2011 Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) champion with co-driver Mikko Markkula driving a works entered Fabia S2000 for Red Bull Škoda. He also won the 2004 Group N Finnish Rally Championship title, and debuted in the World Rally Championship during the 2006 season.
Proton R3 was the motorsport and performance division of the Malaysian automotive brand Proton. The name R3 is an abbreviation of "Race. Rally. Research". By the end of May 2017, Proton announced that funds will be channeled to the company's core operations instead.
The Mitsubishi Lancer WRC is a World Rally Car built by Ralliart, Mitsubishi Motors' motorsport division, to compete in the World Rally Championship. The previous Lancer Evolution series were homologated for the Group A class, and their competitiveness against World Rally Cars from other manufacturers was therefore limited.
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