Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Takes on Asia Cross Country Rally 2024 with Four All-New Triton Rally Cars

Tokyo, July 4, 2024 – Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) has announced that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, for which the company provides technical support, will be competing in the Asia Cross Country Rally (hereafter, AXCR) scheduled for August 11 to 17 of this year. The team will be competing with four all-new Tritons in AXCR 2024, which will be held in southern and central Thailand.

This will be the third year that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart takes on the challenges of the AXCR with the Triton pickup truck. The first year, it claimed an overall victory, and the second year, the team switched to a new model and came in third place overall. In both rallies, the Triton demonstrated a high level of durability and exceptional maneuverability and road handling on rough roads. This year, the Triton's driving performance has been significantly increased, and the team will be aiming for another overall victory, its first in two years.

Team Mitsubishi Ralliart is owned by Tant Sport (Thailand) and helmed by Hiroshi Masuoka, a team director from Mitsubishi Motors who claimed two consecutive victories in the Dakar Rally. Mitsubishi Motors engineers will develop the rally cars and accompany the team to provide technical support during the competition.

As with last year, the drivers and co-drivers will be Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) and Peerapong Sombutwong (Thailand), who took the overall victory in AXCR 2022, and Japanese duo Katsuhiko Taguchi and Takahiro Yasui, who came in eighth place, the highest of any team of Japanese drivers, in the AXCR 2023. They will be joined by the team of Sakchai Hantrakul (Thailand) and Jumpol Doungthip (Thailand), highly experienced rally drivers with a deep knowledge of Mitsubishi vehicles, and Mitsubishi Motors' test driver Kazuto Koide (Japan), and co-driver Eiji Chiba (Japan), who has achieved a podium finish in the past AXCR. Together, the team will be aiming to claim the championship with the T1 prototype, a modified cross-country model, of the all-new Triton.

Reflecting on last year's results, the Triton's driving performance has been greatly increased to enable it to compete against vehicles with high-displacement engines in high-speed stages. A new racing transmission with a high torque capacity has also been selected to improve both durability and maneuverability. Further, the tread size has been increased, and the rear suspension has been switched from rigid/leaf springs to rigid/4-link coil springs. This will allow the vehicle to absorb major shocks on rough roads and improve its traction on extremely bumpy road surfaces, significantly enhancing its road handling on rough roads.

From June 21 to 27, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart conducted high-stress endurance tests of the Triton rally cars, envisioning actual rally conditions, on an off-road course near Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. The reliability and durability of the rally cars' bodies, chassis, and engines, which acceleration performance has been further improved, were confirmed by driving roughly 800 kilometers (km) over the course of the seven-day endurance test, and adjustments were made in preparation for the actual competition.

"Last year, we tried for a second consecutive victory with the all-new Triton, which had just gone on sale, but we were unable to bring out its full potential, ending in third place," said Hiroshi Masuoka, team director of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. "With this year's Triton, we have made major improvements primarily to driving performance and rough road handling, further enhancing our four-vehicle team as we aim to reclaim our position as champions. This year's drivers will also include Kazuto Koide, a test driver who I have worked with in developing Mitsubishi vehicles for over two decades. At Mitsubishi Motors, we leverage our experience in grueling motor sports for vehicle development, so I hope to pass on this tradition to the next generation."

Profile of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart

Team Director: Hiroshi Masuoka (Mitsubishi Motors)

Team Principal: Chayut Yangpichit (Tant Sport)

Technical Director: Kopong Amatayakul (Tant Sport)

Technical Support (body, chassis): Noriyoshi Aiba (Mitsubishi Motors)

Technical Support (engine): Tetsuya Makita, Masataka Tsuiki (Mitsubishi Motors)

Drivers and co-drivers:

Chayapon Yotha
From: Udon Thani Province, Thailand
Born: August 16, 1987 (36)
Career: Chayapon Yotha competes in numerous rallies and races in Thailand. He led Team Mitsubishi Ralliart to its first victory when it competed in the AXCR for the first time in 2022 and took third place in last year's competition.
Co-driver: Peerapong Sombutwong (Thailand)

Katsuhiko Taguchi
From: Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Born: February 7, 1972 (52)
Career: In 2007, Katsuhiko Taguchi won the Rally Japan in Group N. He has also competed overseas, winning the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) twice.
Co-driver: Takahiro Yasui (Japan)

Sakchai Hantrakul
From: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Born: November 29, 1962 (61)
Career: Sakchai Hantrakul has over 30 years of rally experience, and he is well-versed with Mitsubishi vehicles, with a track record that includes driving the Mitsubishi Pajero in the 1996 Dakar Rally.
Co-driver: Jumpol Doungthip (Thailand)

Kazuto Koide
From: Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Born: June 19, 1979 (45)
Career: Kazuto Koide joined Mitsubishi Motors in April 1998. As a Mitsubishi test driver, he has experience driving vehicles such as the Pajero and the Lancer Evolution. He also now serves as a driving instructor for Mitsubishi Motors employees and a demonstration driver at events in Japan and abroad.
Co-driver: Eiji Chiba (Japan)

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