Oldalak

2013. november 18., hétfő

KX53 BKO

KX53 BKO was one of the longest-serving Lancer WRC of her kind (I will explain why only 'was'), and made her competitive debut in 2004 with Kristian Sohlberg on the Rally Sweden. That being the 2nd round of the season, the new car was still very green... An already troubled event just turned to be even more frustrating when the transmission gave up on the second day's first stage.
The car was already a bit worn on the first day... (Mitsubishi)
Her second WRC event was the Rally New Zealand, again with Kristian Sohlberg. I can't say how well the event went for the crew, as they had to retire after the first super special stage on thursday evening with an electrical fault that was a bit amateur...
During shakedown everything was fine... (Mitsubishi)
Her final WRC event was the Acropolis Rally, this time with Dani Sola. He was involved in a very well known and bizarre crash: they had a puncture, ans stopped to change it; however, the next car, Roman Kresta, didn't see them through the thick dust, and crashed into the back of the Lancer. Both crews had to retire, but Sola could continue via SupeRally regulations (his times were recorded, but he wasn't included in the overall standings), even posting a couple of top10 stage times on the last day. Not bad!
Wonderful photo from Greece, 2004 (Mitsubishi)
Then, she was put on a shelf for a long time... well, actually for 6.5 years. Everybody thought that she wasn't converted to WRC05 spec, but indeed she was, and made her return at the Eger Rally, which was the opening round for the Hungarian and Slovak Championship; the driver was Jaroslav Melicharek. It wasn't his first event with the car, but the changing weather and a puncture slowed him, and ended the event 8th overally and 3rd in MSR (Slovak Championship).
Sliding to 8th overall, 2011 Eger Rally (Ivo Nesrovnal)
She spent the rest of the season competing in the MSR, clocking 3 podiums (including a win at Tríbeč), and at the very end of the year she was used on some sprint/spectator events by Antonin Tlust'ak (and that included a win at the Rally Show Uherský Brod).
En route to her first win ever, Rally Tríbeč 2011 (Daniel Hlinka)
Rally Show Uherský Brod 2011 (Jaroslav Pančocka)
2012
She was both used in the MSR by Jaroslav Melicharek and in the Czech Rallysprint Championship by Antonin Tlust'ak. In the 3 starts the car was used by Melicharek, he recorded two 2nd and a 3rd place.
On the Rally Prešov 2012, on the way to 2nd place (Farkas Tamás)
In the Czech Rallysprint Championship, the car was successful too: a win at Vsetín and several podium places marked a good season (the only mechanical problem-related retirement of the year was Rally Jeseníky). Tlust'ak missed the podium at the end of the year by only one point, and the second place by 5 points.
On Rally Vsetín (Jíri Zapletal)
She was also used at some show events at the end of the year, such as Auto Show Slovakia ring or Rajd Barbórka.
A nice powerslide with Szymon Ruta, 2012 Rajd Barbórka (Marcin Snopkowski)
2013
In 2013, the big news came that Antoine l'Estage will bring a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC to the Rally America series. This car happened to be KX53 BKO, and their first event together was the Oregon Trail Rally. The car went through some modifications, such as leaving out the paddle shift gearchange (thus using the transmission in classic sequential mode). The rally didn't end well, as Estage totalled the car, ending the long and eventful life of KX53 BKO. (John Easton, the MML boss said himself that the chassis is beyond repair. Note: they may use the KX53 BKO on a new chassis, but since they still have plenty on the shelf, I don't expect that.
Before the crash... (rallyworldnews.com)
...and after.
Track record:
Starts: 29
Wins: 3 (Rally Tríbeč 2011, Rally Uhersky Brod 2011 & Rally Vsetín 2012)
Podiums: 11
Retirements: 8

2013. november 17., vasárnap

KX53 BKU

KX53 BKU is quite a sad story (like T22 MMR or Y5 MMR), as she was used only twice in the WRC and at all. Her first event was the 2004 Rally Sweden with Gilles Panizzi. If Gilles is not at home on gravel... well, you could imagine snow. But he didn't have to struggle too long, as the gearbox gave up on the 4th stage of the rally.
Not too much before the gearbox broke, 2004 Sweden (Mitsubishi)
Her second and final appearance came at the 2004 Deutschland Rally, this time with Dani Sola. The rally started well, as the tarmac ace clocked in a 3rd fastest time on the opening stage, but on the next the changing conditions caught him out: he braked too late before a wet corner, and hit a tree very hard, and with new chassis being built, she was not used anymore/scrapped.
The 2004 Deutschland Rally started well, but ended ugly (Mitsubishi)
Whereabouts
Either the chassis is put on a shelf, or it was scrapped. The latter is almost certain.

Update 2018: Well, it looks like the car was re-used for show purposes later, as a WRC05 car:
As a WRC05 show car (www.geocities.jp/piaa6158191)
Track record
Starts: 2
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Retirements: 2 (2004 Rally Sweden & Deutschland Rally)

2013. november 8., péntek

KX53 BKV

KX53 BKV was present at the new Lancer WRC's debut at the 2004 Rallye Monte Carlo, being driven by Gigi Galli. They did a good job that included a 4th stage time, but Gigi's inexprience on the Monte cost him dearly: they slid just a bit too wide, and the car got stuck in a ditch. Game over.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators awaited the debut of the Lancer WRC (Mitsubishi)
Just like KX53 BKY, she made the trip Mexico for WRC's Round 3, and her driver was once again Gigi Galli. This event didn't fare better for the pairing, as a broken suspension (this time it was a material-related problem, not Galli's mistake) forced them into retirement on the second day's first stage.
The Mexican stages proved to be too rough for the new car (Mitsubishi)
Then she disappeared for 4 years before returning as a 2005 spec car at the Rallijs Cesis 2007 with Ivars Vasaraudzis, who piloted her to her first victory!
En route to her first win, 2007 Rallijs Cesis (Janis Asaris)
Up next was the Otepää Rally (Estonian Championship) with Urmo Aava, who also took her to the top step of the podium with a dominant performance!
Sliding to her 2nd victory in a row, 2007 Otepää Rally (foto.urmo.ee)
Her final event until now was the 2007 Rally Finland, with RRE/Ralliart Finland boss Kai Kuistila. The new pairing did well, and finished the rally in 13th position.
Jumping to 13th on the 2007 Rally Finland (Mitsubishi)
The car also did Rallyday with Gwyndaf Evans and MML Sports.
At the 2007 Rallyday with Gwyndaf Evans (David Cooper)
Whereabouts
The car survived the Ralliart UK->MML transition and was even converted to 2005 spec, so it is very likely that the chassis still exists, although not being used nowadays.
Update 2014:  Chassis #4 (which I don't know if still has the BKV plate) was put up for sale in 2014. September, alongside KR53 YPO. So it seems she is owned by Bob de Jong. It was stated that the car is still in 05 spec, as opposed to YPO, which has been converted to 07 spec. The price is 135.000 Euros. ;)
Pic from the ad, 2014. September
Update 2015: Dick de Graf put up an ad with the chassis on the picture above, but now built up into a 07 spec WRC. What's interesting is that the car is carrying KP54 GXY numberplates, which should belong to C014. I'll try to get info on this ASAP.
The supposed C004 with C014's numberplates
Update 2019:
Thanks to the information from Tristan Bailey, it seems like that C004 has found its way to Japan, and the previous DDG ad was a typo. So as Tristan found, this car was on display and driven around for some donuts as well. So a big thank you to Tristan for the infos, and he has some more interesting things up his sleeve. ;)
Megaweb Festival 2011 Tokyo (JDM Clips facebook)
Megaweb Festival 2011 Tokyo (JDM Clips)
Megaweb Festival 2011 Tokyo (JDM Clips)

Update 2023:

The car was displayed at the 2023 Rally Japan WRC service park in Mitsubishi's lineup. The people there were told that the car was a test car in Japan, and is now at the Okazaki R&D centre.

At the 2023 WRC Rally Japan service park (Rei Nakajima)

At the 2023 WRC Rally Japan service park (Rei Nakajima)

Track record
Starts: 5
Wins: 2 (2007 Rally Otepää & Rallijs Cesis)
Podiums: 2
Retirements: 2 (2004 Rallye Monte Carlo & Rally Mexico)

2013. november 7., csütörtök

KX53 BKY

KX53 BKY -alongside KX53 BKV- had the pleasure to debut the string of Mitsubishi's new, unique-looking and heavily modified WRCars on the 2004 edition of the Rallye Monte Carlo. And her driver was also a big sensation: after a decade, Gilles Panizzi left Peugeot for a full-time ride in a Lancer WRC. We must note that the cars were still at the early stages of development, thus having a H-pattern gearbox (yes, that's true! The last time that configuration was used by a manufactirer team was 1999...), and no active diffs. Contrary to that, Panizzi led the very green car to a 6th place finish. Not bad for a debut!
This car didn't look like any of the road going Lancers... (Mitsubishi)
Her next event was a new one, Rallye Mexico, but again with Panizzi. It is no secret that there were very few (Loeb, Bugalski, Delecour) who were on the level of Gilles' tarmac driving, but on gravel he wasn't at home at all. Despite that and a new car, he salvaged an 8th place finish, the only problem was the time difference: over 11 minutes behind the winner...
The new event surprised many teams and competitors,
but the Panizzis held their ground (Mitsubishi)
Next up was the roughest rally of the calendar, the Cyprus Rally, with Kristian Sohlberg. The car was still in an erly developmental state, and that had its effects: Sohlberg opened with an 8th time on the first stage, but after a lost sumpguard and a slipping clutch cost him time. He didn't have a chance on the second day, as an ALS-related problem killed the engine.
The gravel roads in Cyprus proved to be too rough for the new car (Mitsubishi)
Her next event was Rally Turkey with the italian daredevil, Gigi Galli (that usually didn't mean too good of a treatment for the cars, as Gigi usually crashed them). This time, it wasn't his fault that a watersplash (that caused half the manufacturer cars to retire or lose a lot of time) damaged the turbo and the radiator's ventillators. After losing 10 minutes, he managed to stay in the rally, and eventually climbed back to 10th place to score manufacturer points.
This time the watersplash was stronger... (ewrc.cz)
Her final WRC event as a fully works car was the 2004 Rally Finland. Her driver was Sohlberg again, but this pairing wasn't deemed to be successful: after some very promising stage times on the morning of the 2nd day, he pushed too hard and crashed out.
The car finally showed some promise, 2004 Finland (Mitsubishi)
She didn't appear anywhere after 2004 Finland, and since Mitsubishi pulled out, many suspected that she was scrapped. However, that is not the case, as she returned with Ivars Vasaraudzis on the Kurzeme Rally in 2007, and immediately bagged a win!
En route to her first win, 2007 Rally Kurzeme (Janis Asaris)
This was her final event, contrary to the popular belief that Kai Kuistila ran this car on the Neste Rally Finland in 2007; that car was KX53 BKV, and the mistake comes from the fact that on the british numberplates the letters 'Y' and 'V' look a lot alike...

Whereabouts
Since she survived Ralliart UK's transformation into MML, and was even converted to 2005 specification, I think she is still with MML, just haven't been used since there are a lot less worn chassis in their workshop.

Track record
Starts: 6
Wins: 1 (2007 Rally Kurzeme)
Podiums: 1
Retirements: 2 (2004 Cyprus Rally & Rally Finland)

2013. november 6., szerda

KX53 BFV

KX53 BFV was the second new-spec Lancer WRC Mitsubishi built for testing and show purposes in 2003 (the other being KX53 AOB).
During a test session in 2004;
note some of the differences the final version has compared to this (Mitsubishi)
Gilles and Hervé Panizzi on a test



Although midway through 2004 the car disappeared, and everybody labeled it as scrapped - until 2012, when Tristan Bailey drove the car on its first ever rally! And after the first shock I realized that this is the one and only Lancer WRC still with a 2004 spec chassis (from 2005, cars longer than 4m could be 1800mm wide instead of 1770). He is still driving the car, which was refurbished just before the 2013 season.
On the Nicky Grist Stages 2012 (Tom Banks)
On the TSH Stages 2013 (M and H Photography)
2014
This year, their first rally was the Subaru WRC Spares TSH Stages Rally, an event they won last year. This time around they got beaten by an S12 Impreza WRC.
The second event was the Rainworth Skoda Dukeries Rally. They didn't have too much luck here, as they had to retire with intercooler problems.
They finished the Nicky Grist Quinton Stages in 7th place. And finally got a picture after discovering Tristan's Twitter account! :)
Nicky Grist Quinton Stages 2014 (Tristan Bailey Twitter)
Their next rally was the Woodpecker Stages, and against heavy opposition (two 2007 spec Focus WRCs, an S12b and an S5 Impreza), they collected a solid 7th place.
Ready to be loaded before the Woodpecker Stages (Tristan Bailey Twitter)
And in competition, 2014 Woodpecker Stages (Twitter)
Tristan entered the Wales Rally GB Nationals, which marked the -well, not full- return of a Lancer WRC to a WRC event, and the first time a 2004 spec Lancer ran a (semi-)WRC event since the 2004 Rallye Catalunya. They finished 4th despite a faulty sensor in the gearbox that resulted in Tristan having to use the manual gear lever, and lift the throttle at every gear change.
2014 Wales Rally GB Nationals (MML Sports)
2016
They returned to action on the Somerset Stages. Everything went well until the 5th stage (they were up to 4th place and 3s behind the podium), where the gearbox gave up. They reached the service, but were unable to make repairs, so they had to retire.
Ready to be put on the trailer a bit too early, Somerset Stages 2016 (Tristan Bailey Twitter)
Their next event was the Severn Valley Stages, which consisted of such legendary stages as Crychan and Radnor. They had a couple of problems and mistakes, and eventually finished 10th overall and 5th in the category.
Scrutineering, Severn Valley Stages 2016 (Severn Valley Stages facebook)
Engine bay, Severn Valley Stages 2016 (Severn Valley Stages facebook)
Severn Valley Stages 2016 (Neil James)
Next up was Rallyday, a famous show event at the Castle Combe Circuit. Ralliart/MML Sports have always tried to be present at every year; this time, Tristan and the team showed up to have some fun and present this very unique car.
Rallyday 2016 (Rallyday facebook)
Her next event was the Trackrod Forest Stages, but this time not with Tristan - Ryan Champion and Alan Harryman have taken over the car. Obviously, they needed some time to get used to the car, but had a good event (apart from some spins and boost issues early on), and not only did they bring the car home in one piece, they finished 3rd overall! Well done!
Trackrod Forest Stages 2016 (Special Stage UK twitter)
Trackrod Forest Stages 2016 podium celebration (Trackrod Rally twitter)
Next up was the Wydean Stages, and Tristan Bailey was back in the driver's seat. Thy started well, lying 3rd after the opening two stages, but a crash on the 3rd damaged the car very badly, although it looks worse than it really is.
Wydean Stages 2016 (Tristan Bailey twitter)
2018
For 2018, Tristan and MMR Rallysport have relocated their HQ to Ireland, so it was no surprise to see them at Mondello Part, on the Irish rally season opener. The event had a very strong entry list, and after all, they finished 10th overall - and made sure everybody enjoyed seeing the Lancer!
Herospec Rallysprint 2018 (internet)
2019
In 2019, BFV ventured into unknown territories: the Austrian Rally Challenge, precisely the Niederösterreich Rallye with Franz Sonnleitner. Unfortunately, on the first day they retired after the first stage, and on the second, on the first one.
Niederösterreich Rallye 2019 (Harald Illmer / ir7.at)


Update 2020.02.01: She has been sold to Austria last year, likely to Franz Sonnleitner / Sonnleitner Racing. I wish him all the best with the car!

2022

In 2022, the car returned for two events: the Perger Mühlstein Rallye and the Austrian Rally Legends. On the Mühlstein Rallye, they faced a serious opposition not only in the form of R5/Rally2 cars, but from a 2006 Focus WRC as well. They did very well though, and finished 4th overall!

Perger Mühlstein Rallye 2022 (Harald Illmer / ir7.at)

On the ARC, they were not classified (nobody was), as it was a show-only event. None the less, they did well and showed the car one more time.

Austrian Rally Legends 2022 (Harald Illmer / ir7.at)

Update 2023.12:

The car was for sale at least until november.


Track record
Starts: 26
Wins: 2


Podiums: 7
2012:
2013:
2014:
2016:
Retirements: 7
2012:
  • Malcolm Wilson Rally 2012
  • Butlins Somerset Stages 2012 (mechanical)
  • Plains Forest Rally 2012
2014:
  • Rainworth Skoda Dukeries Rally 2014 (broken intercooler)
2016:
  • Somerset Stages (gearbox)
  • Wydean Stages (accident) 
2019:
  • Niederösterreich Rallye (technical)