It’s quite rare that a racing team—even those from the world’s biggest and most illustrious car companies—would win a major race in its first try. Ferrari, the team with the most wins in Formula One, wouldn’t win its first Grand Prix until its second season (in 1951).
Now the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) may not exactly be the World Rally Championships, but it’s a major regional motorsport event in itself, participated in by global brands and world-class drivers. And it’s the rally event that Mitsubishi Motors, through Team Mitsubishi RALLIART, won in just its very first attempt.
AXCR 2022 ran from November 21 to 26 in Thailand and Cambodia with Mitsubishi Strada/Triton rally cars competing in the Group T1 prototype category. Over a total distance of 1,524 kilometers, including 637 km of timed special stages (SS), Mitsubishi driver Chayapon Yotha from Thailand finished in first place overall, with a total time of 8 hours, 22 minutes and 42 seconds, while the other Strada/Triton driver, Rifat Sungkar of Indonesia, finished in fifth position, with 17 minutes and 14 seconds behind the leader.
After a three-year absence, the AXCR got under way on the 21st in Buriram in the northeastern part of Thailand, where the first Special Stage (SS) of the rally and a ceremonial start was held. Leg 1 on the 22nd to Leg 3 on the 24th included the SS located in the harsh terrain of Buriram. Leg 4 on the 25th saw the rally cross the border into Cambodia, while Leg 5 on the 26th ended at the spectacular ceremonial finish near Angkor Wat, the famed tourist attraction in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The first half of the rally in Thailand consisted mainly of high-speed stages on rough, dry unpaved roads, while the second half was more challenging with large, deep puddles scattered on muddy roads caused by heavy rain, and a tougher course compared to the previous five stages awaited the participants in Cambodia.
Chayapon Yotha, driving the car #105 Strada/Triton, finished fifth in SS1 on the first day. On the second day, he set the fastest time in SS2, the longest SS of this year’s AXCR with a 203-km course, and climbed to the top overall position. After that, the powerful driving performance and nimble handling of the Strada/Triton helped him to finish SS3 in seventh, SS4 in sixth, SS5 in fifth, and SS6 in fifth, and he maintained the lead he had established in SS2 to take the overall win.
Rifat Sungkar, in car #118, finished SS1 in sixth place following his teammate. He was aiming for higher positions, but after suffering a flat tire and subsequent damages to the chassis in SS2, he dropped to eighth position. The team’s repair work allowed him to continue the rally the next day, and he finished fourth in SS3, fifth in SS4, fourth in SS5, and seventh in SS6, completing the rally in fifth overall while proving the toughness of the Strada/Triton.
Sakchai Hantrakul, in car #119, tested positive for Covid-19 after SS1 and unfortunately had to retire the rally.
Hiroshi Masuoka, team director of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, commented: “For this year’s AXCR, we built on the reliability and durability of the Triton/Strada by tuning the engine and chassis, and entered the rally with specifications relatively close to the production car. Even so, the two Triton/Strada rally cars delivered and I am very proud of our strong finish. The superb performance came down to the drivers, who were able to maximize the Triton/Strada’s capabilities. I would like to thank all, not only the drivers, but also the engineers and service guys who worked every day to fine-tune the vehicles perfectly, all the staff who provided support, and the knowhow that Mitsubishi Motors has accumulated over the years. The key to it all was the tremendous support from our sponsors and the passionate messages of support we received from fans around the world. We would like to share the knowledge we gained through our participation in the AXCR back into the development of production vehicles, and build Mitsubishi vehicles that are even tougher, more powerful, and more reliable.”
AXCR 2022 Auto Category Overall Results
1st Chayapon Yotha (Mitsubishi Strada/Triton)
2nd Jaras Jaengkamolkulchai (Toyota Hilux)
3rd Ikuo Hanawa (Toyota Fortuner)
4th Takuma Aoki (Toyota Fortuner)
5th Rifat Sungkar (Mitsubishi Strada/Triton)
6th Tawee Neanna (Isuzu D-Max)
