KU02 HJZ was the last Evo WRC technically, as she was the last who started her life as a "Step1" car, debuting on Cyprus, driven by Francois Delecour. After a lot of mechanical trouble (mainly with the transmission) and a fire at the team's hotel, Delecour managed to pull out good times on some stages, signaling that the car had potential given the right conditions.
In Cyprus, finally the car showed some promise... (motorsport.com)
After making her debut on the third toughest rally on the 2002 calendar, she had an immediate chance on the second one: the Acropolis Rally. After having to sweep the roads on the second and third legs, the trio of Delecour, Grataloup and KU02 HJZ finished in 11th place, and more importantly, without any technical trouble.
Typical Acropolis Rally (motorsport.com)
Her final event was the 2002 NetworkQ Rally GB, with replacement driver Justin Dale. He was not fast in the car to say the least, and the conditions got the better of him as he rolled both himself and the car into retirement.
On the shakedown, 2002 Rally GB (motorsport.com)
...and after rolling (motorsport.com)
Whereabouts
Since new cars were built and Mitsubishi was pulling a holiday year, and she hasn't been seen since 2002, it is pretty sure she was scrapped.
Track record
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Best finish: 11th (2002 Acropolis Rally)
Retirements: 1 (2002 Rally GB)
KS51 XPN (I think far the worst numberplate a Ralliart car has ever worn, it just sounds really dull to me) had a very interesting, yet short and typical career. Wonder how can you go from an asphalt car to contesting the Safari? Well, if she was (or is?) alive, she could answer that question...
So, she started her competitive life on Corsica, with Alister McRae, and throughout her career she was his exclusive car. So, after bad weather and many problems, the crew finished in 10th position.
Narrow roads, a big car - not exatcly what you want for this event... (motorsport.com)
As the Catalunya Rally in Spain was really close to Corsica (both in time and space), she was used there again. After a couple of punctures, the crew failed to impress again, crossing the finish line in 13th.
In a fast corner, 2002 Spain (motorsport.com)
The team really was just testing at the time Rally Argentina came, her next event. Contrary to that, both cars did better than expected, but they were still a country mile behind event the points-scoring places, let alone the podiums...
Jumping to 8th place, 2002 Argentina (motorsport.com)
Her last known event to date came with the Safari Rally. The hopes were high (so high that even a point for McRae would have been a win for the team...), and despite this was Alister's first Safari and the car was also falling apart (literally!), he managed to bring her home in 9th place. Not bad considering these facts, but utter sh-you know what-it considering he was beaten by Juha Kankkunen, whose Hyundai Accent WRC lost two dampers, the rear-wheel-drive and some gears upon finishing, and also that only 12 cars were at the finish...
This gives you an idea what the Safari is all about... (motorsport.com)
Whereabouts After this career-altering performance, she was quickly scrapped and was never converted to Step2. Update2015: I just came across a very strange set of pictures from 2003 October; on these, this car is at a show, but strangely it is sporting an Evo VIII rear spoiler, sills and rear bumper!
The headlights and the Detschland Rally stickers are also interesting (RaX / evolutionm.net)
Of course, it is possible that XPN was just a registration they put on, but given the fact that it has an Evo VIII rear bumper (so it's not a remained Evo VII bumper they were using before), it is likely to be the original plate of this car - after a Safari, the chassis could have been so badly used that it was decided to remain as a show car (much like Y5 MMR's reappearance after its crash). But after that what happened to her is unknown.
Track record
Starts: 4
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Best finish: 8th (2002 Rally Argentina)
Retirements: 0
KP51 RWN's story is a bit interesting and in the end, sad. She was part of the trio prepared prior to the 2002 season (KP51 RWL, RWO, RWN), and she held the record for the best finish an Evo WRC ever had: on the 2002 Rally Sweden, together with Alister McRae, ended the event in 5th place.
Rocketing to his kind's best WRC finish ever, 2002 Sweden (motorsport.com)
Her next round was the Cyprus Rally, the third hardest-hitting event on the 2002 WRC calendar behind the Safari and the Acropolis. The rally didn't go as well as her debut, first McRae rolled, and than the drive broke in the transmission, forcing the crew to retire.
Prior to the crash, 2002 Cyprus (motorsport.com)
Speaking of the Acropolis, she made the short trip there to be Alister's car again. And once more, unfortunately, the crew didn't see the finish ramp, this time due to an accident.
Already sporting some battle bruises, 2002 Greece (motorsport.com)
If you're already parading in the Mediterranean, why not take a short trip down to Australia for the penultimate round of the 2002 season, and with the bonus of getting converted to Step2 spec? Paasonen substitued for the injured McRae, but was really off the pace, and later rolled too, so the 9th place was even good looking at all this...
They hoped for a food result, but -again- it wasn't to be (motorsport.com)
As 2002 turned into 2003, she was used only once more as a works car, at the 2003 Rallye New Zealand, with up-and-coming young star Kristian Sohlberg. Sadly, they had to retire after they spent too much time repairing the car.
On her last works event, 2003 New Zealand (kristiansohlberg.com)
Whereabouts
We had to wait for her return until 2005, when she was used in the Finnish championship with Kristian Sohlberg, and ran by Ralliart Finland/Race Rent Europe. She had mainly podium places, but was heavily crashed on the SM Valvoline Ralli. There's no info if she was repaired or not, but hasn't been seen since that.
Probably SM Waltikka Ralli 2005
SM OK-Auto Rally 2005
Track record
Starts: 10
Wins: 0
Podiums: 3 (2005 SM Perunkaralli, SM OK-Auto Ralli & SM Uusikaupunki Ralli)
Retirements: 4 (2002 Rally Cyprus & Acropolis Rally, 2003 Rally New Zealand, 2005 SM Valvoline Ralli)
KP51 RWO's factory life -somewhat not interestingly- was reduced only to 2002, or if we count Mika Häkkinen's stint with the car, then January 2003. She debuted at the 2002 Rallye Monte-Carlo, in the hands of Monte specialist Francois Delecour. However, just like his teammate, Francois couldn't get to grips with the transmission of the car (which was built for Mäkinen, so it required heavy left-foot braking approach), and ended in 9th place.
Jumping to 9th place, MC 2002 (motorsport.com)
Her next duty was on the mediterranean island of Corsica, again with Delecour. The french ace was really hopeful before the event that they can challenge for a podium, but they couldn't even get into the points (mainly because all the french teams were present in a shape or form), but 7th meant at least manufacturer points, and gave a little hope that the developments were going in the right direction.
A huge car like this is not a good thing to have in Corsica... (motorsport.com)
As there was little time between Corsica and Spain, she was used on Rallye Catalunya as well, again with Francois. The result was comparable to Corsica, and with some issues 9th place was the maximum they could get.
The fast Spanish roads also didn't suit the car... or the car didn't suit the driver? (motorsport.com)
She than made a long travel through the Atlantic to Argentina, her first taste of gravel, again with Francois. The event went really well, Delecour put in some impressive stage times, but due to a mechanical issue, the crew had to retire.
On the Argentine Pampa, 2002 (motorsport.com)
Her last event as a works car inside the WRC arena was the grueling Safari Rally. Delecour couldn't really do anything because the engine blew early on, sending the crew packing earlier than they wanted to go...
This gives you an idea what the Safari is all about... (motorsport.com)
Sometime between the end of the Safari and 2003, she was converted to Step2 specification (for more info, click here). She was the car former F1 champion Mika Häkkinen drove on the 2003 Arctic Lapland Rally; after many problems, the crew finished the rally in 29th place.
Pre-event test for Arctic Rally, 2003 (farzadsf1gallery.com)
Whereabouts
In 2007, she was sold to Jaspar van den Heuvel in the Netherlands. She was immediately used, and won her debut event, the Tank S Rally, in private hands.
En route to her first victory, 2007 TankS Rally
Her next event was the LG Almere Rally, where the crew finished in 3rd position.
Some sideways action, 2007 Almere Rally (rally-online.nl)
Her next two rallies ended in disaster: first a ripped off wheel, and then a blown engine meant Jasper didn't see the finish.
Proflex-Merwede Rally Hulst, 2007 (rallyfotos.nl)
After the engine problems she was not repaired for a long time. But she returned to action in 2010 with Henk Vossen, who rented her until his own Step2 car's, KR02 DLY's refurbishment wasn't complete.
TankS Rally, 2010 (Jan Borger)
Rallye de Wallonie, 2010 (Bruno Cornet)
Update: Jari Tuuri bought her in the autumn of 2012, and the car's engine and ECU was converted so it can be run with E85 fuel (a requirement for the Finnish Championship); she was entered in the Finnish championship with various drivers this season: Jari Tuuri drove it on the Arctic Rally, and later the car performed well with Ari Vihavainen (3 starts out of this year's four), as he collected a 2nd and two 3rd places, and finished 2nd in the championship. Not bad for a car that was labeled dead for at least 4 times in her 12 years of service...
Pics of the rebuild: http://septech.fi/albumi/mitsubishiwrcstep2/?p=1
Ari Vihavainen - Jani Vainikka, 2013 SM Vaakunaralli (Jani Maukonen)
On the Pohjanmaa SM-Ralli (rallyazores.blogspot.com)
Very nice pic from Pohjanmaa
(although the wear and tear and the lack of parts start to show, just look at what keeps the right front headlight together...)
After the Pohjanmaa Rally, the second half of the season was equally good as the first one: a 2nd place on the SM O.K. Auto Ralli (missing out on victory by only 7 seconds!), then a 33rd place finish on the Turku Ralli, but they finished the season on a high note with a 3rd place in Tampere.
2014
2014 started in the same lineup as 2013 ended. The team started the season at the Arctic Rally, and finished in 11th, but it has to be said that the car -despite all the care and great maintenance- is still 13 years old, it's hard to even get refurbished spares, and also the competition was heavy this year with lots of new cars.
2014 Arctic Rally (Taneli Niinimäki)
Next up was the Vaakuna Ralli. After fighting for the podium the whole rally, they could collect the trophies for 3rd place.
The third round of the Finnish Championship was the Itäralli. The team finished 3rd here last year, so the hopes were to be around the podium again. However, this failed to materialise, and they finished 8th.
In May 2014, after 7 long years, RWO and the team could celebrate another victory at the ABC Ralli - the 2nd of her long, and -many times- grueling career. They edged out champion Juha Salo in his new Fiesta R5, proving that the old lady can still teach a few things to the younger generations. Also, another Lancer WRC appeared onthe same event; more info on that car as soon as I can get any...
En route to her first victory since the TankS Rally in 2007 on the ABC Ralli (reissumies.info)
Her next event was the SM Pohjanmaa Ralli, where the team collected a podium the previous year. They were on course repeating that feat, but the car died with an electrical problem.
August saw the Mitsu and the team return to competition on the SM Ralli Turku. They had a huge fight with Karl Kruuda (driving a Fiesta S2000, which obviously has better suspension and chassis), and halfway through the rally, the difference was just over 3s! However, Vihavainen launched an attack, but it wasn't enough, as Kruuda won by a mere 0.9s!
On the podium once again, SM Ralli Turku 2014 (Forest Vihavainen Racing)
The last round of the Finnish Championship was the Pirelli Ralli Tampere from 25th to 27th September. They came there withhopes of winning the championship (but Kruuda would have had to retire to allow that). They didn't wi the title (finished 2nd), but they won the rally, despite having some brake issues! Another fantastic result with this fantastic car! I offer a very warm congratulation to Ari Vihavainen, his codriver Jani Vainikka, and Jari Tuuri's team that built a bit of a struggling struggling car into what it should be: a championship contender!
During SS2 on the Pirelli Ralli Tampere (Janne Pievilainen)
2015
Before the season, the car received a bit of refurbishment, changing her color to white (a first for the old Lancer WRCs AFAIK), and she was entered to the Arctic Rally, but with Antti Matikanen, who drove Jari Tuuri's KN52 XBB on a couple of short events. After a mainly problem-free run, they finished 35th overall and 10th in class.
Next up for her was the Vaakuna Ralli, and back was her usual driver, Ari Vihavainen himself. They were performing very well, as they finished 2nd behind Juha Salo's Peugeot 208 T16.
That was the end of the snow for now, as it is replaced by gravel. After winning it last year, they entered the ABC Ralli with a good chance to defend the title from a year ago. As it turned out, they won again, netting a win for a nice showing of pace!
Her next event was the Itäralli, which was previously a snow rally, but was moved back to summer. This was another good event as they were battling Salo for the lead, but rain came, and they rolled. The car wasn't too damaged, but it cost them a lot of time to get out of the ditch, and finished 41st.
SM Itäralli 2015 (Itäralli facebook)
After the crash, Itäralli 2015 (facebook)
The final round of the Finnish Championship was the prestigious Pirelli Ralli in Tampere. Everything was fine until SS8 as they were in 2nd, when they couldn't get out of the stage due to a mechanical problem (possibly losing drive in the transmission? Google Translate is confusing...).
2016
The var returned on the Arctic Rally, with Antti Matikainen. They did heir own rally, and finished 13th in SM1 and 18th overall.
Arctic Rally 2016 (Jari Nurminen / ewrc.cz)
Vihavainen returned to the car for the second round of the championship, the SM Vaakuna Ralli. They did well, but couldn't keep up with the leading R5 cars, and eventually finished 3rd overall, narrowly beating Jari Ketomaa's Mitsubishi Mirage R5.
The third round of the FRC was the Tahko Ralli, where the car was present with Vihavainen as the driver. After a steady (one would say slow) start they climbed the leaderboard, and after the main opposition hit trouble, they found themselves on the 2nd place of the podium. Well done!
SM Tahko Ralli 2016 (Tanelli Niinimäki / Ralli SM)
Their next event, the Enset Oy Sm-Ralli was the 4th round of the FRC. The stages there are quite high-speed tests, so they had the podium in their sight. However, as the rally progressed, they slipped from 3rd down to 5th overall and 4th in the SM1 category.
The next (and penultimate) event of the 2016 FRC was the SM Ralli Turku. The competition was extremely tight between the old and new cars. In this very tight battle Vihavainen and the Lancer WRC finished 6th overall and 5th in the SM1 class.
Next up was the ABC Ralli, where in the past they had some very good results. This year the conditions were very difficult, with rain and mud making the competitors' life difficult. However, they won all the stages and took a commanding victory over much newer machinery (Fabia R5, Focus WRC09, etc).
The last round of the Finnish Championship was as usual the Pirelli Ralli in Tampere. Despite it being the last round, it had a quite strong entry, with challenge from marque-colleague Mikko Eskelinen or Juha Salo's Peugeot 208 T16. The latter was able to control the event from the second day, but behind him there was a big fight between 4 drivers for the podium. However, Vihavainen and Jani Vainikka finished 2nd, 7.8s behind Salo.
2017
The car appeared very early this year, as it was given a run on the Neliöx Rallisprint by Jari Tuuri. They had a good rally, finishing 5th overall and 3rd in Class 7.
The next event was the Lipposen OP-Talvirallisprint, and it was used as preparation for the Arctic Rally. Both Tuuri and Antti Matikainen have driven the car, with Tuuri coming home in 6th, and Matikainen in 7th place overall.
Next up was the Arctic Rally, this time with Matikainen. They had no luck unfortunatley, as after accidents and trips to snowbanks in the last couple of years, this time they had to retire with mechanical problems.
The car was back up and running mere days after, as Jari Tuuri and Jani Paasonen were back in action on the Polaria Sprint. I couldn't find the results though so far.
The next event signalled the return of Ari Vihavainen to the car, and immediately he was on pace - but the car's age is starting to show, as it was less and less a match for the new R5s. In the end, they had to settle for 6th overall, which is not a bad result at all!
The car started the Finnish summer rally season with Jari Tuuri behind the wheel, with a start on the TerraWise Ralli. They did well, as they finished 5th behind much younger and faster cars.
Next up was the Riihimäki Ralli, 4th round of the Finnish Championship. They finished 14th in a very strong field, although I have no info if they've had problems or not.
The next event was the Rally Finland Vetomies, where Jari Tuuri drove the car. They were lying 4th after the other Lancer WRC driven by Mikko Eskelinen, when disaster struck on the last stage: although they could get to the finish, they had to retire with an engine failure from 6th place overall.
Up next was the Lake City Rally, formerly known as the Pirelli Ralli Tampere. The car has always done well here - a win and multiple podiums with Vihavainen in recent years. She was piloted by Tuuri again, and finished 16th.
2018
Her season got underway with the Polaria Rallisprint, with Antti Matikainen and Petri Suolomainen switching for drives in her. Matikainen finished 10th, Suolomainen 14th.
2019
The first appearance of the car was at the second round of the Finnish Championship, the SM OK Auto Ralli, but only as a course/VIP car. She was piloted by Toni Kuhanen, and the co-driver's seat was taken by a guest each stage.
Update 2020: In May 2019, she was bought by Thomas Lahti. Unfortunately, not long after buying her, they had a heavy crash on Kanonrundan, with the front of the car heavily damaged...
PET before Kanonrundan 2019 (Thomas Lahti facebook)
PET before Kanonrundan 2019 (Thomas Lahti facebook)
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