Peterhansel wins Shamrock Rally 09 with BMW X-Raid

30^th October 2009, Day 2

STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL CLINCHES VICTORY IN SHAMROCK RALLY 2009

The final stage of the race was just one loop with 182 kilometers and varied tracks, sometimes fast with many undulations. Leonid Novitskiy and Andreas Schulz finished first, two minutes ahead of Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret.

With an excellent performance during the whole rally Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret won the Morocco Rally. The X-raid team tested different options for the drivers throughout the race to find the perfect setting for the Dakar in January. “First of all I am very happy about the victory but it is also important to know that the car is now ready for Dakar” said Peterhansel. “It was a good decision to participate in the Shamrock rally and drive the car once more under race conditions. We made a test in September in Morocco but a race is always a different situation, consequently I am glad that everything works perfect and we did not have any technical problem.”

09 Dakar is turning out to be the worst so far for Mitsubishi, Peterhansel stopped with broken engine in Stage 7

10:41 - Car
300 - Peterhansel on fire!

Due to a fire in the engine of his Mitsubihsi Racing Lancer, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, the title holder, has stopped after 57 km of the day’s special. The driver and co-pilot have managed to put the fire out, but do not know if they will be able to set off again.

11:15 - Car
300 - “Peter” still having problems

After a fire in the engine of his Mitsubishi after 57 km, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel reached the 91-km mark on the day’s special 10.40 behind the provisional leader, Spaniard Carlos Sainz. The title holder had to stop again after 80 km due to his engine overheating.

13:00 - Car
300 - Breakdown for “Peter”!

After a fire in his engine at the beginning of the day, then overheating problems, the title holder, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (Mitsubihsi) is currently halted on the special stage, due to a broken engine and is waiting to have his car towed out of the timed section. This could be the second abandon due to mechanical problems for the Frenchman, 9 times winner of the event and who is taking part in the Dakar for the 20th time.

-ASO

At this point, the frenchman's hope is dashed and retirement is imminent. In stage 5 he flipped his car, but that's a lucky escape because the guys at at the bivouac was able to fix the vehicle in time and Peterhansel is only awarded a 15min penalty for missing a check point.

As it things unravel in Stage 7, it is highly unlikely that Stephane is going to restart tomorrow. If he ever does, he is going to incur a heavy penalty. Engine overheating has caused some big name retirements for the 09 Dakar. Nasser Al-Attiyah retired yesterday from overheating problems too. Looking at the stage profile for today, it's easy to see why. Towards the end of the stage the elevation just keeps rising, from 500m above sea level to 3100m towards the end of the stage.



Nani Roma and Lucas Cruz have had a relatively good run so far. Hopefully they will finish the race. If all goes well for Nani, a 13th victory for Mitsubishi is still possible. It is just so unusual for the defending champion team to lose 3 of 4 cars even before the Rest Day tomorrow. Until then, we wait for the official press release from Mitsubishi.

-rcpax

Mitsubishi Racing Lancer versus Mitsubishi Evolution X [UK]

Monday, 5 January 2009

STEPHANE PETERHANSEL – LANCER EVOLUTION VS. RACING LANCER



* Mitsubishi recognises that dealer profitability and cash flow is key
* Comprehensive cost saving measures are announced
* Dealer terms enhanced for 2009

In all its different configurations (Sports Saloon, Sportback, Ralliart, and Evolution), the new Lancer family is at the forefront of Mitsubishi Motors’ renewed offensive in the passenger car segment… but with a twist.

Racing’s In Our Blood
After 36 years of rallying (starting with the Lancer 1600 GSR in 1973) and 17 years of “Evolution” legend, it was only legitimate for the newest generation of Lancers to go racing as well, keeping the Mitsubishi sporting flame alive and supporting Lancer’s initial steps in the market, be it with the Lancer Evolution Group N rally car or the more extreme Racing Lancer cross-country racer.

Racing Driver, Racing Machine
Tackling the uncharted territory of a South American Dakar rally this year with this all-new Racing Lancer, Mitsubishi Motor Sports’ driver Stephane Peterhansel is probably in the best position to appreciate that twist, having owned Lancer Evolutions since the late 90’s (with two successive “Evo VI”), then a VIII and a IX, all the way to today’s “Project Global” Lancer Evolution X.

As he puts it:
“Very small-looking next to our Racing Lancer, the new Lancer Evolution is really a fantastic machine. With its TC-SST twin clutch gearbox and improved comfort and features, it is really a unique machine in the marketplace: set it to “Sport” or “Super Sport” and play with the paddle shifts and all of a sudden you are behind the wheel of a fantastic video game-like sports car. Then, move to “Auto” and the car can travel over long distances in full comfort mode.” He added: “It is meant to be less manic that my older VIs were for instance, but at the same time, I can’t think of any other sports car than can offer that dual personality really…”

Gallery

*Note: Stephane Peterhansel is driving the Lancer Evolution X with Jean Paul Cottret on the passenger seat. The Racing Lancer MRX09 is Luc Alphand's car.

Racing Lancer takes first win at 08 Baja Portalegre

FIA INTERNATIONAL CUP FOR CROSS COUNTRY BAJAS
BAJA PORTALEGRE 500
02 NOVEMBER 2008
DAY 3

NERPOR - NERPOR (Portugal):
Road section: 0.10km - Service (10 minutes) - Road section: 28.33km
SS4: 110.00km
Road section: 5.86km - Rally finish
Total distance: 144.29km

VICTORY FOR RACING LANCER OF TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART ON ITS FIRST EVENT

MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER'S FIRST VICTORY

A polished performance from Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) and everyone at Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart on this weekend's Baja Portalegre 500 has taken the brand new Racing Lancer to its first victory, straight from the box. Mitsubishi's latest cross-country rally car, which will take over from the successful Pajero/Montero Evolution on next January's Dakar, ran perfectly reliably throughout the three-day Portuguese event to win by the margin of 4 minutes 3 seconds after 515.16km of stages.

What counted possibly more than the final result, however, is the fact that the team was able to profit from the final round of the 2008 FIA Cup for Cross-Country Bajas to validate recent development work on the new car in the specific conditions of the fast, twisty mountain tracks near Portalegre.

The Racing Lancer also covered some 5,000km in southern Morocco shortly before the start of this weekend's competition and Team Director Dominique Serieys (France) is particularly pleased with the outcome of this solid, long-term groundwork: "Today's result rounds off another successful season for Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart which ends 2008 with three wins and two second places to its name. Everyone has done a tremendous job ths year. That includes the stafat MMSP, the people at MMC who look after the engines and, of course, our four crews. It was Stéphane who took the spoils today, but Nani Roma (Spain), Luc Alphand (France) and Hiroshi Masuoka (Japan) have all played vital roles, too."

This weekend saw Stéphane Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret recover from a harmless spin on Friday's super-special and a puncture on Saturday morning's SS2 to pull more than four minutes clear at the top of the leaderboard by the end of Day 2. A quick, yet safe pace then enabled the French pair to come through this morning's drier but equally tricky 110km stage to kick off the Racing Lancer's competition career on a high note. "After more than a year of hard work to make the Racing Lancer as competitive as it is today, it is a fitting reward for everyone in the team to have kicked off the new car's scorecard with a victory here in Portugal," observed the French driver. "It was an honour for me to be chosen by Mitsubishi to give the Racing Lancer its first outing, and it's nice to have succeeded in paying back that confidence with a win."

Having steered the petrol-powered Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13 to victory on September's PAX Rally, which visited the same part of Portugal as this weekend's Baja, Stéphane Peterhansel is ideally qualified to compare the performance of the Racing Lancer with that of its predecessor. "I was especially impressed by two things over the past three days," he reported. "The first concerns the engine: the new 3-litre V6 marks a big improvement in all areas, but it is especially strong out of the slower turns. You can feel the torque and acceleration of the turbo-diesel powerplant pull you through the corner and give you the speed for the next straight� The car's other main strength is its chassis. An event like the Portuguese Baja calls for a specific configuration and we essentially defined a basic set-up for the weekend by extrapolating from what we learned in Morocco. Those settings worked extremely well, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ability of the suspension to soak up the terrain, as well as by the front-end's directional precision."

"Although this event was short, the conditions turned out to be quite varied, and that was obviously positive for our mission here in Portugal," added co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. "The terrain was essentially twisty, but quite fast and very delicate, too, so we were able to establish some good benchmarks. We also succeeded in keeping to the initial game-plan to win with a big enough margin to cover a possible puncture on the final day."

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart will remain in Portugal after the Baja Portalegre 500 for a little further testing before spending time in Spain, for engine calibration work at high altitude. With the 2009 Dakar fast approaching, the car which contested this weekend's event will continue to be used for testing duty, while the official shakedown of the four cars currently under construction for the rally itself will take place in France (Le Creusot), on December 15, before their transport to South America by plane five days later.

FINAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Stephane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	6:11:48	**:**:**.*
2	Filipe Campos Jaime Baptista	P P	BMW X3	T1.2	6:15:51	4:03
3	Miguel Barbosa Luis Ramalho	P P	BMW X3	T1.2	6:22:25	10:37
4	Tonnie Van Deijne Wouter Van Deijne	NL NL	MITSUBISHI L200 EVO	T1.1	6:35:50	24:02
5	Pedro Grancha Paulo Primaz	P P	NISSAN NAVARA OFF ROAD	T1.1	6:37:06	25:18
6	Ricardo Leal dos Santos Joao Luz	P P	BMW X5	T1.2	6:38:39	26:51
7	Miroslav Zapletal Tomas Ourednicek	CZ NL	MITSUBISHI L200	T1.1	6:40:44	28:56
8	Joao Ramos Jesus Vitor	P P	TOYOTA RAV 4	T1.2	6:47:52	36:04

Racing Lancer takes lead in the 2nd day of Baja Portalegre

FIA INTERNATIONAL CUP FOR CROSS COUNTRY BAJAS
BAJA PORTALEGRE 500
01 NOVEMBER 2008
LEG 2

NERPOR - NERPOR (Portugal):
Road section: 0.10km - Service (10 minutes) - Road section: 7.17km
SS2: 140.00km
Road section: 5.86km - Service (40 minutes) - Road section: 7.30km
SS3: 258.98km
Road section: 5.86km - Service (3 hours)
Total distance: 425.37km

TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART'S NEW RACING LANCER TAKES CONTROL TO MARK ITS DEBUT IN PORTUGAL

The first full day of competition has seen Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) power the Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Racing Lancer to the top of the Baja Portalegre 500's provisional leaderboard. The Mitsubishi pair lost a little ground on Friday's short super-special but profited from this morning's 140km stage to the southwest of Portalegre to take control of the fifth and final round of the 2008 FIA Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.

The new Racing Lancer, which is making its competition debut this weekend in Portugal, continued to revel in the cold, damp conditions on the day's second test (258.98km) to pull even further clear and take the French crew 4 minutes 10 seconds clear of their closest chasers with just 110km of competitive action remaining on Sunday morning.

"I pushed quite hard on the first stage, although I tried to keep my driving as smooth and tidy as possible, because the conditions were extremely treacherous and I didn't want to take any risks," reported Stéphane Peterhansel at service this evening. "We dropped a little ground after stopping to change a punctured tyre after 25km but we managed to recover that time to claim SS2 by 32 seconds. The Racing Lancer feels really competitive. You can sense all the torque pulling you out of the tighter corners and up the steeper climbs. I was very pleased with the front suspension, too; I found it to be very precise and efficient on this type of terrain. We kept to the same sort of rhythm on this afternoon's longer test because that was equally as tricky, with lots of water on the ground. The problem was that the conditions weren't predictable, so you had to be on the alert all the time just in case you came across a big puddle under braking, for instance"

"There was effectively plenty of standing water about," confirms Stéphane Peterhansel's co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. "The conditions were very slippery and it could have been so easy to get caught out in certain places. But like Stéphane, I thoroughly enjoy the relatively fast stages in this region which is basically the same part of Portugal which hosted the Rali Transiberico and the PAX Rally earlier in the year. On top of that, the fact that we lost time on Friday afternoon meant that we had a low start order, and that actually turned out to be a good thing: there was absolutely no dust, of course, and the first cars through tended to cut through the slippery top film to expose a firmer base underneath, which meant we benefited from good grip."

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Director Dominique Serieys praised his crew for their brighten performance over today's challenging terrain, but repeated that the team is here in Portugal with a view to adding kilometres on the new Racing Lancer's clock: "The weather conditions really weren't nice, especially early on, but Stéphane and Jean-Paul did a fine job to come through the day unscathed. They are professionals and know what is expected of them this weekend, which is essentially to fine-tune the final details of the new Racing Lancer's development before January's Dakar."

The programme of the last day of the 2008 Baja Portalegre 500 features a single 110km stage before the finish ceremony in Nerpor/Portalegre later in the morning. Following the poor weather that has marked the event so far, crews could well be greeted by a little sunshine as they set off for the final leg early on Sunday morning.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER LEG 2
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Stephane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	4:47:33	**:**:**.*
2	Filipe Campos Jaime Baptista	P P	BMW X3	T1.2	4:51:45	4:12
3	Miguel Barbosa Luis Ramalho	P P	BMW X3	T1.2	4:57:33	10:00
4	Pedro Grancha Paulo Primaz	P P	NISSAN NAVARA OFF ROAD	T1.1	4:59:44	12:11
5	Tonnie Van Deijne Wouter Van Deijne	CZ CZ	MITSUBISHI L200 EVO	T1.1	5:04:03	16:30
6	Ricardo Leal dos Santos Joao Luz	P P	BMW X5	T1.2	5:10:08	22:35
7	Miroslav Zapletal Tomas Ourednicek	CZ NL	MITSUBISHI L200	T1.1	5:12:25	24:52
8	Joao Ramos Jesus Vitor	P P	TOYOTA RAV 4	T1.2	5:16:30	28:57

Racing Lancer makes debut on muddy Super Special

FIA INTERNATIONAL CUP FOR CROSS COUNTRY BAJAS
BAJA PORTALEGRE 500
31 OCTOBER 2008
LEG 1

NERPOR - NERPOR (Portugal):
Road section - 7.27km
SS1 (Super Special) - 6.18km
Road section - 6.71km
Total distance: 20.16km

THE NEW MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER MAKES DEBUT ON THE MUDDY SUPER-SPECIAL IN PORTUGAL SUPER SPECIAL CLASSIFICATION

The cross-country rallying career of the brand new Mitsubishi Racing Lancer kicked off today with the short super-special which served as appetiser for this weekend's 2008 Baja Portalegre 500. However, while Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart would obviously have preferred to have seen the new machine's competition record begin with a fastest time on the short, wet 6.18km test, Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) lost valuable seconds when they nudged a barrier shortly before the finish and were finally accredited with the day's 7th fastest time.

"With all the rain that has fallen in this part of the world recently, the cold, muddy conditions weren't easy, especially since we came here directly from a very long test in the south of Morocco. I was therefore a little short of match practice over this sort of narrow, slippery terrain," explained Stéphane Peterhansel who has been entrusted with the mission of giving the Racing Lancer its debut on the Baja Portalegre 500. "I failed to settle into a good rhythm straight away, and I slid into a barrier just a few corners before the finish line. It took me some time to manoeuvre the car back onto the stage and a few cars passed us in the process, so we've dropped several places overall."

"It's a shame, but by no means a catastrophe," observed Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys (France). "It's obviously never nice to drop time, but the running order of Stéphane and Jean-Paul on tomorrow's stage could actually give them an advantage for the big day they face. Although we would obviously like to mark the Racing Lancer's first outing with a win, the important thing for us this weekend is to learn as much as we can about the car on this sort of terrain and also validate certain aspects of the development work we have covered during the build-up to January's Dakar."

The French driver admits that he and his co-driver Jean-Paul were in two minds prior to the start of today's super-special whether it was preferable to go for a top time, or else take a safe approach to ensure they were not first on the road for Saturday's two long tests which make up the bulk of the Portuguese Baja's competitive distance. "This afternoon's incident means that the decision was taken for us," reflected Stéphane Peterhansel. "The route of this rally is secret, so we don't know what the conditions will be like exactly, but today's super-special didn't seem to cut up too much. Hopefully the same will apply tomorrow. Given the weather, at least dust won't be a problem."

The second leg of the three-day event is the longest of the weekend, with a total distance of 425.37km to cover, including two stages (140.00km and 258.98km) to the southwest and west of Portalegre respectively. Sunday's programme features a single 110.00km test before the official finish in Nerpor/Portalegre at the end of the morning.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cls	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Boris Gadasin Vladimir Demyanenko	RUS RUS	NISSAN OVERDRIVE	T1	5:57.4	**:**:**.*
2	Pedro Gameiro Manuel Dominguez	P P	NISSAN NAVARA	T1	6:01.1	0:03.7
3	Ricardo Leal dos Santos Joao Luz	P P	BMW X5	T1	6:01.6	0:04.2
4	Filipe Campos Jaime Baptista	P P	BMW X3	T1	6:04.0	0:06.6
5	Miroslav Zapletal Tomas Ourednicek	CZ CZ	MITSUBISHI L200	T1	6:04.1	0:06.7
6	Joao Ramos Jesus Vitor	P P	TOYOTA RAV 4	T1	6:04.3	0:06.9
7	Stephane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1	6:06.3	0:08.9
8	Tonnie Van Deijne Wouter Van Deijne	CZ CZ	MITSUBISHI L200 EVO	T1	6:06.3	0:08.9

TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART READY FOR RACING LANCER'S COMPETITION DEBUT

FIA INTERNATIONAL CUP FOR CROSS COUNTRY BAJAS
BAJA PORTALEGRE 500
30 OCTOBER 2008
PRE-START
TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART READY FOR RACING LANCER'S COMPETITION DEBUT

The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team has chosen this weekend's Baja Portalegre 500 in Portugal for the official competition debut of its latest cross-country rally car, the new diesel-powered Racing Lancer.

A single car has been entered for Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret (France) who will contest the three-day event which features a total route length of 589.82km, including 515.16km divided into four special stages. The fifth and final round of the 2008 FIA Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is based in Portalegre which is situated 230km northeast of the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

Mitsubishi's 3-litre V6-engined Racing Lancer, which delivers more than 280bhp (206kW), has come straight from a ten-day test session in the south of Morocco where the team was able to fine-tune its suspension and engine settings, as the countdown to the 2009 Dakar in Argentina and Chile enters its final phase. After the tests, the car was revised and prepared for the Baja Portalegre 500, in Morocco, before being transported by road to Portugal in time for Friday afternoon's start.

"This event is the final active phase in our Dakar 2009 preparations which began in earnest last May," observed Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team Director, Dominique Serieys. "It comes immediately after our third test session of the year, in Morocco where we covered approximately 5,000km with the Racing Lancer. The conditions weren't at all easy on this last test session due to heavy rain, but the tests enabled us to evaluate and validate the latest parts and tunings. The Baja Portalegre 500 will give us a chance to complete our work and see where we stand compared to the competition.

"The choice of the Portuguese event was also a way of expressing our solidarity with the organiser, Jose Megre, who's fighting illness at the moment," continued Dominique Serieys. "Stéphane Peterhansel was chosen for this important job because he's been closely involved with the Racing Lancer project since the beginning. It wasn't simple to select one driver out of the four, but Stéphane has worked extensively on the new car's engine, transmission and suspensions.His long experience with the Montero/Pajero Evolution means he has a valuable benchmark in his mind which will facilitate comparisons."

"It's a privilege for me to have been given the opportunity to drive the new Mitsubishi Racing Lancer on its maiden competition outing. I'm proud and happy to have been given that honour," admitted Stéphane Peterhansel at the scrutineering on Thursday. "This is our only chance to drive the car on an event before it heads out to Buenos Aires...So we'll use it to validate all the latest evolutions that have been made during the course of its development which started more than a year ago. I find the mission very stimulating.

"Until now our work has focused on African Dakar-style terrain, so this weekend will give us a chance to work on a set-up for twistier, narrower stages which could well be on the menu of this year's Dakar" added the winner of September's thrilling PAX Rally which included similar territory in the mountains near Castelo Branco.

The 2008 Baja Portalegre 500 starts on the afternoon of Friday, October 31st with a short 6.18km super-special. Serious action begins on Saturday with a programme of almost 400km divided into two stages, and the event concludes with a final 110km selective section on Sunday prior to the official finish later the same morning in Portalegre. The conditions are expected to be wet for the first day, with the possibility of clearer weather as the weekend progresses.

Stephane Peterhansel wins PAX Rally Portugal!!

Stephane Peterhansel wins PAX Rally Portugal!!
Newflash: Stephane Peterhansel [Mitsubishi] maintained a steady push to exert pressure on rally leader Carlos Sainz [Volkswagen] until the very final kilometers of the PAX Rally Portugal. Stephane's victory is also the Mitsubishi Montero MPR13's final victory, as the vehicle will be retired after this rally.Carlos Sainz who was leading by a wide margin, making it almost impossible for Peterhansel to catch up. However the Mitsubishi team pushed hard to maintain pressure on the Volkswagen driver, and pressure finally caught up with Carlos, who rolled his Racing Touareg 2, handing over the victory to Peterhansel.

The PAX Rally Portugal has seen it's purpose being fulfilled. The rally promising intense action from start to finish, which is what exactly happened. The stages being few, the entire rally was fought until the very end. Mitsubishi wins the part 2 of the 2008 Dakar Series, while Volkswagen claimed victory in part 1.

The victory for Mitsubishi is sweeter as they retire a trusted and reliable rally machine, the MPR13. It will be succeeded by the MRX09 Racing Lancer in all future Cross Country Rallies and in the 2009 Dakar in South America.

Pictures and Full press release to follow later.

-= UPDATE =-
Official Press Release from MMSP

DAKAR SERIES
PAX RALLY EM
14 SEPTEMBER 2008
LEG 5

STEPHANE PETERHANSEL TAKES VICTORY IN PORTUGAL FOR REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART TEAM

Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team’s Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) profited from the shortened final stage of the inaugural PAX Rally to clinch a dramatic win this afternoon in Portimao, Portugal. The French crew were fastest on two of the five-day event's six stages and stole victory from the grasp of former WRC champion Carlos Sainz by a margin of 16 seconds after almost 800km of against-the-clock action.

There was further cause for celebration in the Mitsubishi camp thanks to Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France) who came third to round off the Dakar Series event and mark the Montero/Pajero Evolution's last competitive outing with a double podium.

A time-consuming roll on Saturday afternoon put team-mates Joan 'Nani' Roma/Lucas Cruz (Spain) out of contention for a top finish, but the Spanish pair's run was rewarded with sixth place overall.

After more than 10 hours of competitive driving through central and southern Portugal since Wednesday morning's start, Peterhansel and Sainz were split by just 31 seconds in the Spaniard's favour going into this morning's stage. When the first half of this test was neutralised because of a nearby forest fire, it looked practically certain that the Frenchman would have to settle for second place, but Sainz went on to make a mistake after the re-start and the Mitsubishi driver pounced on the opportunity to steal first place in a breathtaking finale!

"I know it's a cliché, but an event is never over until the finish line has been crossed, and today's result has shown yet again that nobody should never forget that," beamed Peterhansel after the rally. "Although Carlos made an error, we were in a position to profit from it because we refused to give up trying. We pushed hard all the way and tried to keep the pressure on him as much as possible... It's obviously nice to have won, but I am actually happier with the fact that this victory is an ideal way to mark the end of the career of the Pajero/Montero Evolution. It's been a super car to drive over the years and I owe it so much. This is the best possible way to say thank you for all that!"

"It hasn't been an easy week," added Peterhansel's co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. "The conditions were very slippery throughout, especially when we were running first on the road. It was vital to stay totally concentrated from start to finish and not make any mistakes"

Osamu Nakayama (Japan), the President of MMSP SAS, was also pleased to see the Pajero/Montero Evolution take its score to 20 cross-country rally wins since its maiden appearance on the 2002 UAE Desert Challenge, a record which includes five straight Dakar wins between 2003 and 2007: "It's the perfect way to send this great car into retirement and hand over to the brand new Racing Lancer’ which is due to makes its official debut in October," he said. "I am very pleased to have included this rally in our programme. It was very well organised and gave Stéphane, Luc and Nani a chance to showcase their ability and commitment with the 2009 Dakar fast approaching. That was the aim of coming here and everyone has fulfilled their mission to the letter."

Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France) join Peterhansel in the top-three after hitting the ground running on Day 1 (Wednesday) to give Mitsubishi an early lead following the opening stage in the mountains near Castelo Branco, northeast of Lisbon. The second leg saw the French crew maintain their advantage from the threat of Carlos Sainz and the two drivers completed Thursday's action exactly level at the top of the provisional leaderboard. The switch to sandier terrain on Friday enabled the former WRC champion to go clear in front, while Peterhansel eased into second spot, but Alphand successfully defended his footing on the podium all the way to the finish, helped on his way by an assertive second quickest time on Saturday's SS5.

"This is a great result for the whole team, and Stéphane did a fantastic job," acknowledged the French driver. "The pace was incredibly fast all week and I am pleased with my performance. We didn't make any mistakes, our Pajero/Montero Evolution ran like clockwork and our reward is a podium finish and three top-three times from six, including victory on Wednesday's stage. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in the team. They have done a remarkable job."

Despite an eloquent second fastest time on SS2 (Thursday), Joan 'Nani' Roma and Lucas Cruz (Spain) were forced to settle for sixth place following a roll on Saturday afternoon. Their car was undamaged but the incident saw the Spanish pair drop almost 10 minutes which ended their challenge for fourth place. "We pushed as hard as we could all week and I am quite pleased with our performance, although I would obviously have preferred to finish higher up the order," remarked Roma after the finish in Portimao. "We end the event strongly but this is above all a great result for the team and a tremendous morale booster as we put the finishing touches to our preparations for January's Dakar"

The final event on Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team’s 2008 competition programme takes the squad back to Portugal for the Baja Portalegre (Thursday, October 30 - Sunday, November 2). The sixth round of the FIA Cross-Country Baja International Cup will mark the debut of the brand new diesel-powered Racing Lancer’ which is due to spearhead Mitsubishi's assault on the 2009 Dakar in South America. A single car has been entered for Stéphane Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret.

"We've won today, and I couldn't have wished for a better way to say 'adieu' to the Montero/Pajero Evolution which has enjoyed an exceptional career," concluded Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys (France). "I think the main lesson to come out of this rally is the fact that our drivers are as mentally and physically strong as ever, and clearly extremely competitive, too. The priority for us now is to use the coming weeks and months to prepare thoroughly for the 2009 Dakar, and our programme includes an important test session with the new Racing Lancer in October before the Baja Portalegre."

Gallery of PAX Rally Portugal Final Leg and Awarding Ceremonies




Podium Positions
1. Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cotrett [Mitsubishi] -Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR13
2. Carlos Sainz/Michel Perin [Volkswagen] -Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3. Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard [Mitsubishi] -Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR13

Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution wins UAE Desert Challenge 07

2007 FIA CROSS COUNTRY RALLY WORLD CUP
ROUND 5: UAE DESERT CHALLENGE
2 NOVEMBER 2007
LEG 5

A SIXTH CONSECUTIVE WIN FOR REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART AS STEPHANE PETERHANSEL TRIUMPHS IN DUBAI


Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart today notched up a record eighth UAE Desert Challenge victory - and its sixth in as many years - as Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) took their personal total to four wins on the event with the Mitsubishi Pajero/Evolution since 2002. The French pair overcame the extreme heat of the United Arab Emirates’ desert to take command on the penultimate leg and their perfectly paced run saw them beat Carlos Sainz by 11 minutes 56 seconds after more than 1,500km of competitive action.


Team-mates Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France) challenged constantly for the lead during the early part of the event. At the end of the third day, they emerged in front at the end but then retired with two stages remaining when they damaged their front-right suspension in a treacherous pothole on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Joan ’Nani’ Roma/Lucas Cruz (Spain) were eliminated when the Spanish driver fell ill shortly after the start of Tuesday’s test and was unable to continue any further.

Stéphane Peterhansel believes much of his success today in Dubai was due to finding the ideal pace from the start and he steadfastly refused to be drawn into taking risks by trying to match the speed of his principal rivals. "We succeeded in keeping to the plan we adopted before the start and it ended up paying dividends," observed the Frenchman who has also won this event on two-wheels in addition to his four victories with Mitsubishi. "If you drive hard all the time, there’s obviously a chance that you can pull out a big lead but it automatically exposes you to greater risks, too. We were also helped this week by our Pajero/Montero Evolution. The MPR13 is a strong, well-sorted car that enables you to push as much as you like, even in the sort of heat we’ve had here all this week. It’s great to have won and today’s result is clearly a morale booster for the Dakar but nobody in the team has lost sight of the fact that the Dakar promises to be a long, tough event..."

In today’s slightly cooler and cloudier conditions, the objective of the French pair - who eased into the lead after Thursday’s drama-filled stage - was to control their cushion of more than nine minutes by staying on the heels of Nasser Al Attiyah while at the same time keeping a vigilant eye on their closest chaser Carlos Sainz who was running behind them in the order. "On today’s first 123km stage, the pace was still very fast and clearly nobody had any intention of giving up the fight. It wasn’t easy to find the ideal pace because there were still 287km of stages to complete and, as we saw on Thursday and Friday, nobody could afford to take anything for granted," explained co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. "The first test went well though, so we kept to the same tactic for much of the final stage which was slightly longer; just over 160km. When we saw Nasser stopped at Km128, however, we decided to lift because even if Carlos managed to pass us there was little chance he could bridge the gap"

After completing the final stage of the six-day, 2,210km event, which was essentially based in the southern part of the United Arab Emirates desert, close to the border with Saudi Arabia, Stéphane and Jean-Paul covered the short road section for this afternoon’s official prize-giving ceremony at the Dubai International Marine Club.

Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team plans three-pronged Moroccan challenge

• Peterhansel, Masuoka and Roma set for Morocco showdown
• Mitsubishi aims to avenge last year’s defeat in crucial African event
• Orpi Rally of Morocco, May 31st-June 6th, 2006
• 2006 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup, round four
  

PONT-DE-VAUX (France) – The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team will send three Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolutions to next week’s Orpi Rally of Morocco, round three of the 2006 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup, which starts in Erfoud on Wednesday, May 31st.

The French duo of Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret will be joined by Spaniard Joan ‘Nani’ Roma and Andorra-based co-driver Henri Magne and Japan’s Hiroshi Masuoka and French co-driver Pascal Maimon in MPR12 versions of the Japanese manufacturer’s all-conquering off-road vehicles. Team drivers Luc Alphand and Peterhansel have already won this year’s Dakar, Patagonia-Atacama and Tunisia rallies.

“We know the area around Erfoud very well,” said Peterhansel, who led until the final stage in Morocco last year and was the winner of the rally in 2004. “For the last three years Mitsubishi has used the region for its summer and autumn testing and development programs. As we head south the stages around Ouarzazate are likely to be more difficult and I know from past experience that punctures can be a major risk on the big rocks and sharp stones.

“I am pleased that Cyril Neveu and his organising team have decided to use this part of the country after two years starting in Agadir and using stages in the south. Cyril deserves credit for always coming up with a new and innovative route where possible. At Mitsubishi we know that it will not be easy to win in Morocco this year. Our rivals have closed the gap and it is no longer possible to play a waiting game and plan your attack on a given day. To win in Morocco this year we will all need to be competitive from the start of the very first stage.”

Team mate Masuoka needs a good result in Morocco to maintain his confidence. “The Moroccan stages of this year’s Dakar Rally were the closest of the entire race,” said Masuoka. “I was forced to retire from the event there, but we know that are rivals are very competitive on these stages and this event will be important to us to assess our improvement and the progress of our rivals.”

Spaniard ‘Nani’ Roma came within a few kilometers of recording his second victory for the Mitsubishi team earlier this month on the Transiberico Rally. Roma is probably the most improved driver in the championship and has belied his relative lack of experience of rallying on four-wheels. Bearing in mind he only switched from motorcycles to cars at the end of 2004, Roma will be one of the favourites for a podium finish in Morocco.

This year’s Orpi Rally of Morocco will see the Mitsubishi Ralliart Team come face-to-face with a pair of Volkswagen Race Touaregs, driven by Carlos Sainz and 2003 event winner Giniel de Villiers. Former winner Jean-Louis Schlesser is also entered in a Ford-engined Buggy and former Mitsubishi driver Carlos Sousa makes his first appearance in a Phoenix Sport VW.

After scrutineering in the eastern town of Erfoud on Tuesday, May 30th, the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team will embark upon the opening 310 km loop stage around Erfoud on Wednesday, May 31st. The second 475 kms leg takes teams from Erfoud to Ain Beni Mathar and the third 479 kms leg returns to Erfoud.

The route then heads in a southerly direction towards the town of Zagora and on to the popular tourist city of Ouarzazate on Sunday, June 4th. The sixth and final stage of the event is a 311 kms loop around Ouarzazate, with the event drawing to a conclusion on Monday, June 5th.

Peterhansel clinches 3rd victory for Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart in Rally of Tunisia

Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team driver Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret clinched their third victory in the Optic 2000 Rally of Tunisia. The victory was the team’s 19th win out of 21 starts with the Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution – only defeats in Morocco in 2004 and South America’s Patagonia-Atacama Rally last March have blotted a clean sweep of international rally wins.

Peterhansel’s success marked Mitsubishi’s fourth win in Tunisia in the last five years and the Japanese manufacturer’s eighth triumph on the event since Frenchman Jean Da Silva’s first win back in 1987. Peterhansel and Cottret won the event together in 2002 and 2004 and ’Peter’ was twice a winner on factory motorcycles in 1990 and 1994.

The result also means that Stéphane Peterhansel joins his Mitsubishi team mate Luc Alphand at the head of the driver’s points standings in this year’s FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup. Alphand claimed 15 points for his victory in last month’s Patagonia-Atacama Rally. Peterhansel’s winning margin over Volkswagen’s Giniel de Villiers was 7m 13s, with third-placed Jean-Louis Schlesser 15m 33s adrift.