Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart race team wins 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally

Mitsubishi’s Ralliart division has returned to rally racing, with a modified Triton taking victory at the 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally.

The rally trail covered 1700 kilometres of terrain from Thailand to Cambodia, with mountain, jungle, swamp, beach, river, desert, plantation, tarmac and circuit environments across six days and various weather conditions.

It is classified as an FIA Group T1 rally car, with modifications including a lightened bonnet, carbon fibre doors, a roll cage, underbody protection, and a retuned version of the Triton’s four-cylinder diesel engine.

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While power for the 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine remains identical at 133kW and 430Nm, the revisions comprise reduced friction and improved responsiveness in the mid-speed range.

Further mechanical changes include a front and rear limited-slip differential, adjustable front and rear dampers, larger front and rear ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers, 17-inch Work alloy wheels, and Yokohama Geolander tyres.

While the Mitsubishi Ralliart team is owned privately, by Tant Sports in Thailand, it is backed by technical support from Mitsubishi Motors. The team is directed by Hiroshi Masuka, a back-to-back Dakar Rally champion driver in 2002 and 2003.

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The winning vehicle was steered by Thai driver Chayapon Yotha and co-driver Peerapong Sombutwong, with the six stages completed in a time of 8:22.42, while a second car driven by Rifat Sungkar from Indonesia and co-driver Chupong Chaiwan finished in fifth place.

“In order to win among rivals with larger engine displacements, I concentrated on reducing mistakes thoroughly and completing each corner and stage carefully,” said Yotha.

“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 conditions – tarmac, gravel or mud.”

Hiroshi Masuoka, team director, said the return of the Ralliart name was important for Mitsubishi.

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“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.”

What about a production version?

Mitsubishi Australia has hinted the Ralliart nameplate could return to locally-developed, hotted-up versions of the Triton and Outlander.

A potential Triton Ralliart could be built by a local third-party, such as Walkinshaw, in an identical fashion to the Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior and Volkswagen Amarok W-Series.

“From our point of view, Ralliart means some tangible performance benefit,” said Mitsubishi Australia’s chief product planner, Owen Thomson, at the launch of the Outlander PHEV in August.

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“Whether that’s to the chassis or to the powertrain or whatever; that’s our fundamental position on what MMAL [Mitsubishi Australia] would like to see in the market. How that eventuates is something we’re still working through with MMC [Mitsubishi HQ in Japan]."

However, Thomson quickly emphasised that the discussions around Ralliart are still in their early stages.

“We’ve expressed a desire around where we’d like to go, but we don’t have anything else to say around exactly how it will look at the moment,” he said.