Tag Archives: Team Mitsubishi Ralliart

NEWS

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.

Image: Mitsubishi Motors Thailand

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.

Image: Mitsubishi Motors Thailand

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

Image: Mitsubishi Motors Thailand

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.

AXCR 2026 Route Summary

  • Start: Walking Street, Pattaya
  • Leg 1: Pattaya → Prachin Buri
  • Leg 2: Prachin Buri → Nakhon Sawan
  • Leg 3: Nakhon Sawan Loop
  • Leg 4: Nakhon Sawan → Kamphaeng Phet
  • Leg 5: Kamphaeng Phet → Phitsanulok
  • Leg 6: Phitsanulok
NEWS

2024 AXCR: Team Mitsubishi Ralliart showcases Delica Mini as support vehicle

Mitsubishi Motors, through the Mitsubishi Ralliart team, aims for the championship title in the Asia Cross Country Rally 2024 (AXCR 2024) scheduled to take place from August 11 to 17.

In the competition set to be held in the central and southern regions of Thailand, the Mitsubishi Ralliart team will feature up to four new-generation Triton pickup trucks, accompanied by a support vehicle lineup consisting of the Delica D:5, Outlander PHEV, and the kei car Delica Mini!

The Triton vehicles have already undergone performance testing, covering a distance of 800 km on regular roads and off-road routes back in late June, followed by a shakedown session on August 6 to ensure they are in optimal condition for this year’s competition.

According to team director Hiroshi Masuoka, “Apart from improving driving performance and increasing tire width, we have also enhanced the rear suspension by leveraging expertise acquired from our former Dakar Rally champion, the Pajero.

“Modifications have also been made to its original strength, such as handling extreme routes, so that the rally cars used this time can deliver the performance we expect.”

As mentioned earlier, the Mitsubishi Ralliart team will feature four Delica D:5 minivans, the Outlander PHEV SUV, and a Delica Mini kei car as support vehicles.

One of the four Delica D:5 units will be used personally by team director Hiroshi Masuoka for route inspections to be used by the rally vehicles, equipped with special suspension that raises ground clearance by 20 mm.

All Mitsubishi Ralliart support vehicles are equipped with Work CRAG T-GRABICII alloy rims (Work Emotion M8R rims for the Outlander PHEV) and Yokohama GEOLANDER off-road tire wraps.

Furthermore, all six support vehicles will showcase body graphics matching those of the Triton rally vehicles.

A total of 67 vehicles will compete in this year’s AXCR event, comprising 46 in the auto category, 19 in the motorcycle category, and 2 in the sidecar category.

The opening ceremony will take place on August 11 in the Surat Thani region, southern Thailand, and will conclude at Skywalk Kanchanaburi on August 17.