Well, we have stepped over the 10th WRC, and from now on everything gets bigger and more confusing. Cars that disapper for 8 years and then show up again, etc... But now let's talk about KN04 WMC. She was one of the car that was built in the middle of 2004, but wasn't used till 2005 because of Mitsubishi's decision to stop after Germany and come back for Catalunya only. So it isn't so surprising that she debuted as a WRC05 spec car with Galli in NZ. However, this debut was bittersweet: even though they claimed 8th place, but that was after Rovanperä had to stop with a double puncture after the last stage, and after problems with the clutch and alternator on the first day.
2005 Rally New Zealand (Mitsubishi)
Up next was a hard-hitting event, the Rally of Turkey, and her driver was Galli once again. Contrary to NZ, this event started very well: Galli won a stage and finished four in 2nd place, he was briefly leading the rally, but more imortantly, he was 2nd at the end of the first day behing Sébastien Loeb! However, the cindarella story came to an abrupt end on the start line of the first stage of the second day as a turbo pipe came loose, forcing Galli to go the entire loop without turbo, and subsequently dropping the crew to 10th. They bounced back with an other stage win and consistent top5 stage times, but the huge time loss meant they only finished 8th.
2005 Rally of Turkey (Mitsubishi)
Well, we can't say this story is a successful one so far, but Galli really put the icing on the cake in Finland: they had to retire on the second stage of the first day after losing a wheel, and they crashed again on the second day, heavily damaging the engine bay and the chassis.
2005 Rally Finland (Mitsubishi)
Her last event in the works era was the Tour de Corse, again with Galli. The event was disappointing altogather as all three WRC05s were misbehaving (like the Evo WRC on its debut), making life miserable for the team. In the end, Galli finished 9th without causing any trouble to the leaders.
Her last appearance in the works team was just like her previous ones: miserable (Mitsubishi)
2006
In 2006, she started the Donegal International Rally in Ireland with Mark Higgins. This rally was a refreshment as the team finished 2nd in heavy competition and on stages that they've never encountered before.
2007
In 2007, she made an unexpected return to the WRC with various drivers. First of them was Xavier Pons, who competed for Kronos last year, but Sordo got the factory Citroën contract, so Xavi had to get some sponsorship to start with something. He started the season in Monte Carlo, and was in the top10 when he broke the transmission and was forced to retire. He returned with SupeRally, and finished 26th.
2007 Monte Carlo Rallye (Mitsubishi)
Pons -even though he had basically no experience on snow- chose to drive on the Rally Sweden and Norway as well. These two rounds were the last for him till Subaru signed him. In Sweden he crashed out early on, and in norway he finished 16th.
Wearing the classic marks of a trip into a snowbank, 2007 Rally Norway
Pons didn't return to the team, but WMC was in action again with Juho Hänninen on the Rally Sardinia. Despite Juho's then very young age (he's still just 32 in 2014!), he didn't do any mistakes, and neither did the car, meaning that they crossed the finish line in 8th.
2007 Rally Sardinia (Mitsubishi)
She returned with Hänninen for the 2007 Rally Finland, but this time in Race Rent Europe's unique silver-black-gold paint scheme. He was in 8th when the engine started running on 3 cyinders only on Ouninpohja. He had to retire on the next stage, putting a disappointing end to KN04 WMC's disappointing WRC career.
On her last ever WRC event, the 2007 Rally Finland (Mitsubsihi)
2008
Maybe it's a coincidence, but those cars -Mitsubishi wise- that have the most success in the WRC always get written off or retire at national levels; however, those cars that struggle in the WRC tend to do well in national rallies. This is the case with WMC as well, since on her only event outside the WRC until 2008 (2006 Donegal Rally), she finished 2nd. Csaba Spitzmüller (his nickname is 'Spici', and since it saves me a whole lot of trouble, I'm going to use this; also, everybody who know him do by his nickname) and his team the second half of the ORB (Hungarian Chamionship) with MML, and he was the one who wrote off KR05 ZLK in a huge accident... but back to 2008 now. The team started the year with the Eger Rally, and finished it in 2nd place, behind a Ford Focus WRC03.
2008 Eger Rally (Petr Sagner)
The next event was Spici's home rally, based in Miskolc, so the team took extra effort to make sure everything was going to be OK. However, it just wasn't to be, as they had to retire with a fuel pump failure.
After Spici's home rally came mine, the first gravel rally of the year, the Szombathely Rally. This was memorable for the team, because even though they won with a Lancer WRC in 2006, the win here launched a wining streak that saw them becoming the champions... but more on that later. The rally itself was muddy and rainy, and since we have fast, Finland-like stages that have a very hard top layer, it was really challenging just to finish.
Next up was the Veszprém Rally, which is like the Acropolis -hot, dusty, and runs on military gravel roads that have a lot of stones. They had a huge fight with Benik and his 2003 Focus WRC for the win, but in the end, they prevailed, and won their second rally in a row.
2008 Veszprém Rally (Tódori Tibor)
The next round of the championship saw the crews return to the northern region of the country for the debut of the Ózd Rally. Spici was fighting with both Benik and Turán -at the time he was driving a 307 WRC-, but after Benik's retirement and Turán's tyre problems, they could ease off and collect win #3 in a row.
The next round was also a new rally in the calendar, the Nyirád Rally. The evnt was great, with spectacular stages that were a combination of Szombathely and Veszprém: some sections were fast, some technical, with generally a great surface, but the stones could cause major trouble if you found them. Well, the team didn't, and they won their 4th rally in a row, and looked set and sealed for the title. But there was still one rally to go...
The 2008 ORB's final round was the 41st running of the Mecsek Rally around the hills of Pécs. This is a historic event, as this was the final time that one of Mitsubishi's WRCs and Group A cars -KN04 WMC and X3 MMR- went head to head. It could have been an interesting fight, but unfortunately Tagai crashed X3 and had to retire. But back on topic: Spici, his codriver Kazár, the team and KN04 WMC achieved what they have been dreaming about all season long, and won the 2008 championship title. That means KN04 WMC is one of the three Lancer WRCs that have won a championship!
2008 Mecsek Rally celebrations (MML Sports)
2009
For 2009, the car stayed with the team, although it went through a refurbishment at MML in Rugby. The calendar was about the same, but the opposition changed heavily: an S11 and an S12b Subaru WRC arrived, and in addition to the 307 WRC, the car park was stronger than ever.
So, the season started in Eger again, and the rally brought even more competitiveness than predicted, as the Subarus and the team exchanged stage wins, but in the end, the team celebrated their 6th win in a row!
2009 Eger Rally (Daniel Hlinka)
The next event was Spici's home event, the Miskolc Rally. The hometown curse struck the team again, as a small mistake in the first loop meant a broken suspension and several lost minutes. In the end, they could climb up to 4th place overall.
During scrutineering, Miskolc Rally 2009
Next up was another rally that's close to the team's HQ and a historic event, the Salgó Rally. They lost some time with bad tyre choices, meaning they couldn't chase down the S11 Impreza, and ended the rally in 2nd.
The 4th round of the championship was the Veszprém Rally - a welcomed return to gravel. It was a grueling event, as the stages were wet from overnight rain, and 30+ Celsius degrees meant that the humidity and the agony of choosing the right tyres were both high. However, a steady, fast drive from the team earned them victory, and more importantly, put them closer to the championship leaders.
Jumping to victory, Veszprém Rally 2009 (Tódori Tibor)
As the news came out it's 100% that in 2010 WRCs will not be allowed to go for the overall championship in the ORB (in 2009, they participated in an "Open Championship", while the championship for the FIA-compatible cars was the National Championship; from 2010, the latter stayed in tact, and WRCs could only win their category), the penultimate round of the championship, the Mecsek Rally was to be WMC's and the team's last event together. They arrived with the chance of defending their title, but a mistake on the first day resulted in a big crash, ending their hopes of the title and a good end to this partnership. In two years, they managed to win 6 rallies, finish 2nd a further two times, and retire only twice from 12 events, well, that's not so bad at all!
Shattered car and championship hopes, Mecsek Rally 2009 (www.rigofoto.hu)
2011
She returned to action almost 2 years after her crash on the Rally Latvia with Raimonds Kisiels. Unfortunately the return didn't end well, as they had to retire from 3rd overall after a nerve in Kisiels' shoulder was causing him pain all the time.
She made one more appearance in 2011, with Dutchman Mark van Eldik (YPP's former driver), on the Lausitz Rally. However, this rally turned out to be her 2nd retirement in a row, this time because of transmission problems. After repairs they returned, and won many of the stages.
2011 Lausitz Rally (Tomas Toman)
2012
In 2012, she had a bit longer and varied programme than in the previous years. Her first rally of the season was the Rallijs Sarma, with Raimonds Kisiels. This event didn't turn out to be good, as this was her 4rd retirement -and the 2nd because of a gearbox problem- in a row.
Rallijs Sarma 2012 (Rallijs Sarma Facebook page)
Next up was the Rallijs Talsi, where she was piloted by Kisiels again. And for the 3rd time in a row, she was forced to the sideline with a gearbox problem. In the video it can be clearly heard that something seriously broke in the gearbox when they're pushing the car towards the end.
After this disappointment she returned to the Central European region, more specifically to the Czech Republic, with her driver Roman Odložilík. Her Czech debut didn't end well, as an accident meant her retirement toll was now at 6 in a row.
Fuchs Agropa Rally 2012 (Ivo Nesrovnal)
Her next event was the Rally Kurzeme with Kisiels. They caught a break this time, as this was her first finished event since 2009! They finished 6th overall, and won the WRC category.
Her next event was a relaxing show rally, the Rally Show Uherský Brod. Her driver this time was Martin Březík, a regular in the Czech Championship.
Rally Show Uherský Brod 2012 (Ivo Nesrovnal)
She ended the 2012 season in Poland with another show event, the Rajd Barbórka, and was piloted by Piotr Krawczyk. They ended the rally in 45th position.
2013
She only competed in 2 rallies in 2013, and the first of them saw her return to the Czech Republic to compete on the Rallysprint Kopná, this time with Antonín Tlust'ak. Unfortunately they have never been on the pace, and ended up 6th.
Her second event of 2013 saw her return to Latvia for one last time with Raimonds Kisiels. This farewell went better than the previous ones before, as they ended the rally in 3rd overall.
Rally Talsi 2013 (Janis Asaris)
The car appeared at the 2013 Rallyday at Castle Combe Circuit with Guy Wilks.
2015
She returned to competition with Jamie Anderson on the Mid Wales Stages. They had good speed throughout, and eventually won by over 40s!
2015 Mid Wales Stages (Pirelli Welsh RC facebook)
After this, they entered the Malcolm Wilson Rally with a good chance of a good result - but there were plenty of strong opponents (many new Focus WRCs, an S12b, a couple of older Focus WRCs). Theydidn't start well, as they dropped to 25th on the second stage. A couple of top5 stage times followed, and just when they were in a chance to get to 4th place, they had to retire on SS6.
That slightly disappointing last event didn't have too much impact on the team, as they entered their next rally, the 2015 Somerset Stages. The entry was very strong, with S12b and S11 Imprezas, Focus WRCs, etc. However, a spin on the first stage cost 30 seconds, and further time was lost with a not quite optimal tyre choice. But in the end, they finished 2nd after a huge push!
Up next was the Plains Rally, again with Jamie Anderson. The opposition was even heavier than before, with lots of new WRCs, RRC, R5s. They managed to finish 5th, netting important points for the championship.
Jamie, Jon and the Lancer returned to action on the Nicky Grist Stages. A huge entry was present as always, and this time, the competition was too tough, as they finished 6th (with the same time as 5th-placed Stephen Petch), but the better first stage result decided against a top 5 finish for the Mitsubishi crew.
Next up was the Woodpecker Stages, a demanding and high quality rally, and also part of both the BTRDA and Welsh Forest Championships. This time everything fell into place, as they won the event, albeit by only 3 seconds - the top 3 were separated by 5 seconds! But a win is a win, and this is a well deserved one!
2017
In 2017, Jamie brought her out for the Woodpecker Stages. They started strongly, with winning the first two stages, but on the third disaster struck, and after SS3 they had to retire due to gearbox problems. Whereabouts
In 2014, Cyrille Féraud bought her along with KX05 AUR (that is quite interesting, more on that later!), but hasn't rallied her until now (June). It is unknown if she is a parts donor to AUR, or will be used alongside the other car. Update 2015: She wasn't with Cyrille (or isn't anymore), but stayed with MML instead. Looks like Jamie Anderson will be using her this season, but that can change; time will tell. :) Update 2016: She was / is for sale, as Jamie is running the revived BRC, but as this car is not eligible, with a Fiesta R5. So, she is looking for her 3rd owner in 3 seasons... Update 2020: She is up for sale again by Jamie, for 170k GBP here. It has a very rich history, so hopefully we will be able to see her in anger sometime in the future...
