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-event 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

K4 MRE

K4 MRE -alongside sister car K5 MRE- was the first Lancer Evolution entered by Ralliart Europe in the WRC, making her debut on the 1993 Rallye Monte-Carlo with Kenneth Eriksson and Staffan Parmander. One funny story occured right before the event, after Ralliart failed to secure Coca-Cola sponsorship. But just before the event, the wrong design scheme was faxed to the workshop, that's why the Lancers had Coca-Cola stripes on the sides. They ran the event like that, but the design -sadly- has never been seen since. Anyways, Eriksson did well, and finished 4th, albeit 17 minutes behind the winner.

Rallye Monte-Carlo 1993 (internet)

Rallye Monte-Carlo 1993 (instagram)

Her next event was the Rallye de Portugal, again with Eriksson and Parmander. As said above, the cars were sporting a new look, with a lot of green replacing red and black. They were doing well once again (remember, this was only the second works outing for the Lancers ever!), and finished 5th behind more experienced opposition.

Rallye de Portugal 1993 (F1PAM): this is a great picture, as during the Lancer's design phase,
the Integrale was studied thoroughly by Mitsubishi engineers

Rallye de Portugal 1993 (olhares.sapo.pt)

Between two competitive outings, she (or her numberplates) was used on the team's 1993 Rally Finland pre-event test as well.

1993 1000 Lakes Rally pre-event test (Youtube)

Her final WRC event in 1993 came on the RAC Rally, this time with Schwarz. They had very little experience, and that was worsened by the trecherous conditions that year (snow and ice in Wales, ice in Kielder, etc.), but in the end reached the finish in 8th.

Network Q RAC Rally 1993 (pistech.karoo.net)

1994
Despite the arrival of new chassis, the old cars (or at least their numberplates) were kept around an converted to Evo II. K4 MRE returned on the Sanremo Rally, with the team's new star, Tommi Mäkinen. Their rally didn't end well, as Tommi took a wheel off on SS5 and they retired.

1995
K4 MRE returned to the WRC on the RAC Rally, again with Mäkinen and now as an Evo III. Mitsubishi was in a fight with Subaru for the manufacturers' title, but their plans didn't go too well: Mäkinen retired with transmission failure, and Eriksson crashed out, meaning Mitsubishi finished 2nd behind Subaru.

Network Q RAC Rally 1995 (Shaun Flannery Photography)

Network Q RAC Rally 1995 (Shaun Flannery Photography)

Whereabouts
This is a tough one, as this car was one of the two first Lancer Evos to compete in the WRC, and yet it might now have survived. There's an Evo II in Cowan's collection, but from the pictures it can't be determined which one, and none of the Evo IIIs is likely to be this car.

Track record (might be incomplete)
Starts: 6
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Best result: 4th - Rallye Monte-Carlo 1993
Retirements: 2

• 1995 RAC Rally - transmission
• 1994 RAC Rally - accident

L6 MRE

L6 MRE made her debut on the 1994 Rally New Zealand, with Armin Schwarz and Klaus Wicha. The event counted towards the WRC and the APRC among others - so specialist drivers were also present to try to throw a wrench into the regulars' business. Schwarz was not baffled by them though, and finished 3rd, right in front of his more experienced team-mate Kenneth Eriksson.

Rally New Zealand 1994 (en.response.jp)

Rally New Zealand 1994 (KiwiRallyFan)

Her next event was the Hong Kong - Beijing Rally. No info on who drove the car or what the finish was, and pictures... no-no.

1996
She returned on the 1996 1000 Lakes Rally, with Ralliart test driver Lasse Lampi (this could indicate that at that time L6 MRE was a test car), and as an Evo III. They did what they could, and ended up 8th overall against very-very strong opposition.

1000 Lakes Rally 1996 (mattsoumi)

Whereabouts
She made it to 1996, albeit most likely as a test car; this could indicate that she was scrapped later on, but just as well she might be still around, although not likely.

Track record
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1

• 1994 Rally New Zealand - Schwarz/Wicha

Retirements: 0

L5 MRE

L5 MRE made her debut as an Evo I at the 1994 Rallye Monte-Carlo with Armin Schwarz and Klaus Wicha. They had a great showing, winning a lot of stages, but a mistake cost them 4 minutes, and eventually they finished 7th.

Rallye Monte-Carlo 1994 (forum-auto.com)

Her next event was the Rally New Zealand (which was part of the WRC and APRC as well), this time with Eriksson. By this time the car was converted to Evo II spec (most notable difference from the outside is the different front sumpguard and bumper). Surprisingly, Schwarz finished 3rd, while Eriksson managed 4th in the car.

Rally New Zealand 1994 (internet / KiwiRallyFan)

Her next event was 1994 Hong Kong - Beijing Rally. At the moment I don1t know who her driver was (most likely Eriksson), and what the result was. Here's a picture though, supposedly of L5 MRE.

Hong Kong - Beijing Rally 1994 (www.scalemodellink.com)

Whereabouts
Since there's very little info on the APRC rounds of 1993-94-95, I can not fully say that this car had only two starts (ot this numberplate even). The car might have competed on the 1994 Rally of Malaysia and Thailand, as well as being used again as an Evo III...

Track record (most likely incomplete)
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Retirements: 0

L4 MRE

L4 MRE made her debut on the 1994 Rallye Monte-Carlo (alongside sister car L5 MRE) with Eriksson and Parmander. Together with their team-mates, they won 11 of the 22 stages, but due to various problems, they finished 5th.

Rallye Monte-Carlo 1994 (mulpix.com)

From the ice and cold mountains around Monte-Carlo to the humid and hot rainforests of Indonesia: this sums up the journey that took L4 MRE from the opening round of the WRC to the opening round of the increasingly important APRC, the 19th Bank Utamaa Rally Indonesia. Now converted to Evo II spec, Eriksson remained her driver, and the pairing proved to be successful on gravel, winning the event by over 2 minutes. Shinozuka in the Japanese works car (KNY70-HA7863, article of it later) finished 3rd.

Bank Utamaa Rally Indonesia 1994 (en.response.jp)

Her next event was the Rally Australia (at least that's what I have any proof for; in between, she could have appeared on the Malaysian Rally). There was a big fight between McRae and Kankkunen, but Eriksson didn't have a say in that; he finished 3rd, almost 4 minutes behind McRae.

Rally Australia 1994 (en.response.jp)

1995
She made her return on the 1995 1000 Lakes Rally, which wasn't a part of the WRC in that year, with Tommi Mäkinen. After winning in 1994 (and putting himself in the spotlight) with a Ford Escort, Tommi won again. At this point, the car was converted to Evo III spec, and had a one-off yellow livery.

1000 Lakes Rally 1995 (itsbrucemclaren.tumblr.com)

1000 Lakes Rally 1995 (Rainer Nyberg twitter)

Whereabouts
She made it to 1995, but wasn't used in 1996. With many new chassis built (supposedly...), she is either in a collector's hands or was destroyed.

Track record (most likely incomplete)
Starts: 4
Wins: 2

• 1994 Rally Indonesia - Eriksson/Parmander
• 1995 1000 Lakes Rally - Mäkinen/Harjanne

Podiums: 3

• 1994 Rally Indonesia - Eriksson/Parmander
• 1994 Rally Australia - Eriksson/Parmander
• 1995 1000 Lakes Rally - Mäkinen/Harjanne

Retirements: 0

M8 MRE

M8 MRE debuted alongside sister car M7 MRE on the 1995 Rally Indonesia, and was piloted by Tommi Mäkinen and Seppo Harjanne. They finished 3rd, behind Colin McRae's Subaru and their team-mate Eriksson.

Her next (known for me) event was the Telstra Rally Australia, again with Tommi Mäkinen and Seppo Harjanne. They were running in 3rd for most of the event, but in the end slipped back to 4th after clipping a bank and almost losing the left-front wheel. While the event did not count towards the WRC (just the APRC), Eriksson's win and this 4th place kept Mitsubishi in the title race in the Asia-Pacific standings. (Ps. This is the only picture I could get of the car so far... sorry for the big logo.)

Rally Australia 1995 (www.mcklein-imagedatabase.com)

Whereabouts
More than likely this car was used in pair with M7 MRE during 1995 (although I can not say that for sure, so far I couldn't find any pictures or videos), if that is true, it was used at least on one more event, the Rally of Malaysia (where Mäkinen finished 2nd behind Eriksson and M7). I'll try to get info on these events somehow...

Track record (incomplete)
Starts: 2
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1

• 1995 Rally Indonesia - 3rd

Retirements: 0

M10 MRE

M10 MRE -alongside sister car M9 MRE- made her debut on the 1995 Rally New Zealand, with Tommi Mäkinen and Seppo Harjanne on board. They made a good start to the event, leading it after the first day. But like on many events back then, Tommi was pushing the envelope a bit far, and they crashed out on SS10.

Rally New Zealand 1995 PET (kiwirallyfan.com)

Rally New Zealand 1995 (itsbrucemclaren.tumblr.com)

She returned on the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally with an other Finn, this time with Ari Vatanen. They had one task: help team mate Eriksson in the APRC Drivers' Championship, and also to bring good points for Mitsubishi in their close fight with Subaru. They achieved both, with arriving to Beijing in 2nd, right behind Eriksson. (No photo yet, it is very difficult to get one of these old APRC events...)
 
Whereabouts
Just like M9 MRE, this numberplate has never returned to the stages, although it's more than likely that the chassis of both cars have been used if they were new builds; if not, it's possibly that this was their final showing.

Track record
Starts: 2
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1

• 1995 Hong Kong-Beijing Rally

Retirements: 1

• Rally New Zealand 1995 - accident

M9 MRE

M9 MRE's -and sister car M10 MRE's- story is not that unusual for works Lancers. Both cars debuted on the 1995 Rally New Zealand, with Kenneth Eriksson and Staffan Parmander assigned to drive M9 MRE. Eriksson was fast, but not fast enough, and finished 5th behind McRae and the three factory Toyotas.

Rally New Zealand 1995 (en.response.jp)

Rally New Zealand 1995 (forocoches.com)

She returned to competition on the 1995 Hong Kong-Beijing Rally, again with Eriksson and Parmander. The event was always one of the most difficult on the APRC calendar, and there was pressure: Eriksson could get a big lead in the championship standings, also, Mitsubishi could get a jump on rivals Subaru. In the end, Eriksson won, with stand-in teammate Ari Vatanen coming home in 2nd for the double win.

Hong Kong-Beijing Rally 1995 (Classic_Rally instagram)

Whereabouts
The M9 MRE numberplate has never returned to competition, but I don't necessarily think that the car was scrapped; it might have been reused with a different numberplate...

Track record
Starts: 2
Wins: 1

• 1995 Hong Kong-Beijing Rally

Podiums: 1
Retirements: 0

M7 MRE

M7 MRE is a car that first appeared during 1995 - but with uncertainty over the fact when (to me at least, there are very few pictures and videos). Her first event seems to be the 1995 Rally of Indonesia, with Eriksson and Parmander. They finished 2nd, a bit more than 2 minutes behind winner Colin McRae.

Next up was the 1995 Petronas Rally of Malaysia, with Kenneth Eriksson and Staffan Parmander. They won the rally, in front of their team-mates Mäkinen and Harjanne.

Petronas Rally of Malaysia 1995 (Mitsubishi)

Her next event was the 1995 Rally Australia, again with Kenneth Eriksson and Staffan Parmander as her crew. The event (which wasn't part of the WRC that year, only the APRC) couldn't have gone better, as they collected maximum points following their win!

Rally Australia 1995 (web-rally.blogspot.com)

Rally Australia 1995 (Martin Holmes / rallylife.cz)

1996
M7 MRE made her return very late into the Evo III era, reappearing on the 1996 San Remo Rally with the team's guest star, Didier Auriol. This was the charismatic French driver's first drive in the car, jumping into the team in the last minute. Accordingly, most of the time he was getting used to the car, and he eventually finished 8th, and kept Ralliart in contention for the Manufacturers' Title.

San Remo Rally 1996 (internet)

Originally, the plan was that Auriol would drive the car in Spain as well, but Mäkinen crashed his own car during the previous round, and so Burns got to drive M7, whereas Tommi got Burns' car (though with M5 MRE numberplates, which were likely swapped from the crashed car). The new car didn't bring Richard any success as they had to retire.

Rally Catalunya 1996 (pinterest)

Whereabouts
Update 2018: The car is in Japan alongside K7 MRE. 

Update 2024: The car is showcased in the Fuji Motorsports Museum in her 1995 Australia livery:

At the Fuji Motorsports Museum (Miho Cheung / facebook)

Track record
Starts: 5
Wins: 2

• Rally of Malaysia 1995

• Rally Australia 1995

Podiums: 3

• Rally Indonesia 1995
• Rally of Malaysia 1995
• Rally Australia 1995

Retirements: 1

• Catalunya Rally 1996 - retired