AXCR 2026: Team Mitsubishi Ralliart secures second consecutive victory

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has announced that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart clinched the overall victory at the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) 2026, held from 9 to 15 August.

The achievement marks the team’s second consecutive AXCR championship, and also represents their first-ever AXCR win featuring a fully Japanese driver–co-driver pairing.

Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Performance Highlights

Team Mitsubishi Ralliart fielded three T1‑spec Mitsubishi Triton pickup trucks in AXCR 2026.

Driver Katsuhiko Taguchi secured the overall win with a total time of 12 hours 58 minutes 20 seconds.

Kazuto Koide finished 27th overall (20 hours 58 minutes 30 seconds), while Chayapon Yotha completed the rally in 36th position (34 hours 48 minutes 43 seconds).

Taguchi began Leg 1 with positive momentum, successfully minimizing time loss that affected many early competitors. Despite muddy and rutted terrain caused by heavy rain, he ended the opening leg in third place overall.

His pace continued to improve, recording the fastest SS time in Leg 3 with an eight‑second advantage.

By the end of Leg 5 — the longest stage of the rally — Taguchi and co-driver Yasui had built a gap of more than five minutes.

With a measured and strategic approach, the pair secured their first AXCR overall victory with a winning margin of 2 minutes 25 seconds, delivering Team Mitsubishi Ralliart’s second straight AXCR championship.

Competing in AXCR for the third time, Kazuto Koide faced early difficulties after getting stuck on a roadside embankment and receiving a timeout penalty. However, he later posted the eighth-fastest time in SS5 and ultimately finished 27th overall.

Defending champion Chayapon Yotha encountered a puncture on rocky terrain during Leg 2, losing time while changing the tyre. He recovered to sixth place in Leg 3, but the second half of Leg 4 forced another tyre change, followed by engine issues at the start of Leg 5.

Despite multiple setbacks and penalties, Yotha managed to complete the rally in 36th position.

A Challenging Route Spanning Over 2,000 km

The 31st edition of AXCR featured a total distance of 2,145.19 km, including 921.80 km of Special Stages (SS).

Held entirely in Thailand, the rally presented demanding terrain such as dense forests, large rocky sections, river crossings, deep slippery mud, and hot, humid weather conditions — all of which tested the endurance of drivers, crews and machines.