Update log (will be continuously updated)

Hello everybody!

So, it has been a long time since any new content has been put on this blog, and I am sorry for that. However, from now on I am intent on getting this train back on its tracks - so I have been trying to catch up with all the happenings with the Lancers, and update the blog with the infos - once again, many of You have provided valuable infos, so thank you for that! This update log will be refreshed when something is updated or a new post is written, so keep checking this out! ;)

So, an update log with a short summary of what has been changed as of 2020.05.03:

• S3 TMR: update with pictures and VHS Rallies' video from the Mitsubishi Cyprus Rally 2000 pre-event test
• W4 MMR & V22 MMR: update with crops from Ralliart promo video "Rough guide to rallying" 
• update of K4 MRE and J200 RAE with pictures from the 1993 Rally Finland PET
• KR53 YPO: update with the result of the Rallye van Haspengouw
• KX53 BFV: update with last year's competition and owner change to Franz Sonnleitner (AT)
• KR53 YPO: update with a photo from last october
• KN04 WLZ: she is back in Europe, and with Tristan Bailey, along with more cars, so stay tuned for more updates!
• KN04 WMC: Jamie is still trying to sell her, let's see where she ends up! Updated with photos from the advert
• KP51 RWO: update on her 2019 events and owner change to Thomas Lahti; she has been badly damaged, hopefully she will be recovered
• KN52 XBB: updated with the 2020 Arctic Rally result and short summary
• K6 MRE: new post that was in the works for 2 years...

K6 MRE

K6 MRE -alongside sister car K7 MRE- made her debut at the 1993 Acropolis Rally, and their debut also marked the first appearance of the Evo II specification (new rear spoiler, revised front bumper, new sumpguard and other bits) cars. She was piloted by Kenneth Eriksson, but unfortunately their rally came to an end when the sumpguard gave way, and lost all oil from the engine.

Acropolis Rally 1993 (Rallysport Stockphoto / RSSP)

Next up for her was the Rally Finland, or as known then, the 1000 Lakes Rally, this time with Armin Schwarz. Armin has always been a better tarmac driver, and the car wasn't good enough yet to challenge in Finland, so they finished 9th overall.

1000 Lakes Rally 1993

1994

With Mitsubishi still committing only to a part-time programme, K6 returned on the Acropolis Rally, reuniting with Eriksson.They did pretty well, won 4 stages and was well in a points-scoring position when the suspension collapsed and they had to retire.

Acropolis Rally 1994 (McKlein)

1995
For 1995, K6 was in action again on Rally Sweden with her usual driver, Kenneth Eriksson. Rule changes (smaller turbo restrictor most importantly) favoured Mitsubishi, and after a good showing in Monte Carlo, they dominated this event, with Eriksson and Tommi Mäkinen leading through all of the event. However, due to team orders, Mäkinen slowed down on the final stage to let Eriksson pass him, and land Mitsubishi's and the Lancer Evolution's first win in the WRC.

Rally Sweden 1995 (LAT Photographic / Motosport Images)

Rally Sweden 1995 (juwra.com)

Whereabouts
Unlike the other Evo II's fates, K6 MRE's migh have been a bit different, as Andrew Cowan's museum has an Evo II with Rally Sweden 1995 stickers on... And it would be quite difficult to believe that neither him, nor Ralliart would have put away the first winning Lancer.

Track record
Starts: 4
Wins: 1

• 1995 Rally Sweden - Eriksson/Parmander

Podiums: 1
Retirements: 2

• 1993 Acropolis Rally - engine
• 1994 Acropolis Rally - suspension

KX53 AOB

KX53 AOB - alongside KX53 BFV - was the first 2004 specification Lancer WRC built, and later used as a test car.

KX53 AOB during the Lancer WRC04 rollout

KX53 AOB during the Lancer WRC04 rollout

From the above two pictures it is very interesting to compare the initial look of the car to how the actual car ended up (biggest differences: front bumper, rear bumper, headlights, front and rear wings, etc.).

Whereabouts
The car is owned by Tristan Bailey, who also owns KX53 BFV, since 2012. The car is halfway through its build up process, and soon will be ready to roar in original specification as a tarmac car.

In July 2017 (Tristan Bailey / MMR Rallysport facebook)

Merry Christmas!

Well, another year has passed, and the blog is still going well - I am trying to post new things as much as I can, but it not that easy anymore (less info, less time, etc). But anyways, merry Christmas to all of you, and hopefully we will meet here next year too. Until then, I will try to put out one more post, and update some newer ones with infos I have gathered lately. So stay safe and enjoy some rest and good food in the coming days! :)

KNY70-HA7863

This car is very interesting, as this one was a Ralliart Japan car - RHD, different roof scoop, mirrors and sumpguard, etc. The car made its debut on the 1993 Safari Rally under the Mitsubishi Oil banner, with none other than Kenjiro Shinozuka. The event went badly though, as they had to retire after engine trouble not even halfway into the rally.

Safari Rally 1993 (Mitsubishi)

In 1993, contesting the APRC was Ralliart Japan's job, and so their next event was the opening round, the Rally Indonesia. Not much is known of this event, but Shinozuka finished 2nd, behind Possum Bourne's Subaru Legacy.

Next up was the Rally of Malaysia. This time around, they finished 3rd, behind Colin McRae and Possum Bourne.

The car's final event of the season was the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally. They couldn't beat the Subaru Legacy trio of Vatanen, McRae and Bourne, and finished 4th.

Hong Kong-Beijing Rally 1993 (en.responsejp.com)

1994
They returned for the 1994 Safari Rally, which was the original Evo I's last appearance as a works car. They fared a lot better in 1994 than the year before though, and ended up in 2nd behind Ian Duncan's Toyota Celica.

Safari Rally 1994 (Mitsubishi)

Next up was the Rally Indonesia, with the car now converted to Evo II. They finished 3rd this time, little consolation to that was the fact that team-mate Kenneth Eriksson took the victory, with Possum Bourne 2nd in the Mitsubishi sandwich.

Ralliart Japan ended the season with the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally. They finished 4th.

Hong Kong-Beijing Rally 1994 (Classic Rally instagram)

1995
In 1995, they returned with the usual lineup, the only thing changed was the car, now sporting the Evo III updates. They had a rough event, but finished 2nd behind Yoshio Fujimoto's Toyota Celica.

Safari Rally 1995 (internet)

Whereabouts
After the 1995 Safari - and occasionally even before that - Shinozuka started using Ralliart Australia's cars (more on that later), and on the 1996 Safari Ralliart Japan had a new car (at least a car with different numberplate, but likely it was a different car). Of the APRC rounds back then, there's very little info available, so...

Track record
Starts: 8
Wins: 0
Podiums: 5

• 1993 Rally Indonesia
• 1993 Rally of Malaysia
• 1994 Safari Rally
• 1994 Rally Indonesia
• 1995 Safari Rally

Retirements: 1

• 1993 Safari Rally - engine

J200 RAE

This car is pretty much a mystery, and not really a 1993 car - given the numberplate, it was registered likely in the first half of 1992. Nevertheless, it was pretty much like R6 MRE or Y2 MMR (more like the latter, as R6 MRE was likely converted from a used Evo IV chassis), never competing anywhere.

Pre-Monte 1993 test (McKlein)

Pre-Monte 1993 test (McKlein)

Pre-Monte 1993 test (McKlein)

 

 J200 RAE on the 1993 Finalnd pre-eent test (Youtube)

K5 MRE

K5 MRE -alongside sister car K4 MRE- made her debut on the 1993 Rallye Monte-Carlo with Armin Schwarz and Nicky Grist (for a little story on the cars' livery, take a look at K4 MRE's story). They were doing quite well, but transmission problems cost them a lot of time, but they eventually rallied back to 6th position.

Rallye Monte-Carlo 1993 (Martin Holmes / rallylife.cz)

She returned to action in Portugal, again with Schwarz. They had a disastrous first day with losing a wheel, and an accident on the road section before SS13 put them out of their miserable rally.

Rally de Portugal 1993 (Pinterest)

Her next event was the 1000 Lakes Rally, this time with Kenneth Eriksson. The cars were a step behind the competition (mainly caused by the centre differential, which was switching torque between the front and rear axles whilst airborne, making the car unstable after landing), made apparent by the fact that Eriksson managed to win only one stage out of 35. They finished in 5th position though, earning precious points for Mitsubishi and themselves as well.

1000 Lakes Rally 1993 (Olivier Delhez / ewrc.cz)

Her final event of the season was the RAC Rally. Held in trecherous conditions that year (snow in Wales, ice in Kielder, etc.), the stages took their toll. Still piloted by Eriksson, they fell back initially, but fought their way back to 2nd by the end of the rally. It was quite a good result considering the lost time on the first day.

NetworkQ RAC Rally 1993 (pistech.karoo.net)

1994
It was not until the Sanremo Rally that K5 MRE returned to the WRC as an Evo II (in the meantime, she could have been used on some APRC events, like Malaysia or Indonesia, as there are little to none info on them events), and back with her was Armin Schwarz. Their reunion didn't end well, as they had to retire due to a fire. Before that, they won two stages.

Sanremo Rally 1994 (facebook)

Sanremo Rally 1994 (forocoches.com)

Update: before the event, a car with K5 MRE numberplates was used for testing. It would surprise me of this was the actual car they used was the same as this, but maybe yes, who knows...

Ralliart testing before the 1994 Rally Sanremo (Andrea Bruschettini)

Ralliart testing before the 1994 Rally Sanremo (Andrea Bruschettini)

1995
During the next season, she was back again - albeit only for the final event, the RAC. Mitsubishi was in a (bit hopeless) fight with Subaru for the championship, and K5 had a new driver (and Evo III specification), namely Tommi Mäkinen. Mitsubishi's title hopes collapsed when Mäkinen was forced to retire on SS9 with transmission problems, ending any chance of defeating Subaru.

NetworkQ RAC Rally 1995 (instagram)

NetworkQ RAC Rally 1995 (Shaun Flannery Photography)

Whereabouts
Quite a difficult question, just like with K4 MRE. Andrew Cowan has an Evo II supposedly from 1994, which was driven (supposedly) by Eriksson, more than likely in tarmac specification. This all but rules out K5, although it is possible it exists somewhere, as many of the old Evo IIIs have found their way into private collections.

Track record
Starts: 6
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1

• 1993 NetworkQ RAC Rally - 2nd - Eriksson/Parmander

Retirements:

• 1995 NetworkQ RAC Rally - transmission
• 1994 Sanremo Rally - fire
• 1993 Rally de Portugal - road accident