Maybe the saddest story of all these cars goes to this gal, KN52 XBB. She was a pure test car, and never saw competition in 2002 as she was finished after Rally GB. So in 2003, she was used to test parts for the new, completely redesigned (that's a bit illogical to test components in a car for an other that has no similarities to the older one except the wheelbase and the base engine, but OK), but was finally entered to the 2003 Deutschland Rallye, with Jani Paasonen. They were way off the pace, and on the rain-soaked event, they went straight on a corner, landing in the forest; the car was basically written off, and as no need for her, she was just scrapped after the event.
On her first event, the 2003 Dautschland Rallye (Petr Lusk)
2014 Update: It caught my attention that Jari Tuuri (whose team is running KP51 RWO for Ari Vihavainen) aquired/built a new Lancer WRC, and used it as a course car on the ABC Ralli this year.
Album of the car's rebuild: http://septech.fi/albumi/mitsubishiwrcstep2projekti/
He entered the Neste Rally Finland with this car -this was the first appearance of a Lancer Evo WRC on the event since 2002!-, and finished 3rd in his category!
On the Rally Finland podium, 2014 (Oke Tuuri)
Their latest event was the Toivakka Ralli, where they finished 11th.
On Octorber 4th, they participated on the Kattasora Rallisprint in Laukaa. Thanks for the pics again! :)
2014 Kattasora Sprint (Tuuri)
Same. Looking splendid!
Also, they found and bought a lot of spares for their cars, so the dreaded parts shortage won't hit these old ladies in the future. Also, here's a video, XBB appears at 0:27.
There were othr starts, but until I can confirm which these were, I won't write about them. 2015
Her first event of the year was the Lipposen-OP Talvirallisprint, driven by Antti Matikainen (and possibly by Jari Tuuri as well, I will have to get info on that).
The car returned to actionon the SM Itäralli, again with Antti Matikainen. Given the fact that he hasn't driven the car in competition since the winter, their 13th place finish is not that bad.
SM Itäralli 2015 (Itäralli facebook)
Jari Tuuri returned to the car for the Orimattila 150v. Juhlaralli, where they finished 5th. Unfortunately, so far I couldn't find any photos, so if you have any links or own pics, just let me know!
Tuuri also drove her on the 4vetomies 2015 event, and finished 4th overall!
4vetomies 2015 (4vetomies Twitter)
The car returned on the Pirelli Ralli Tampere, but this time with Antti Matikainen. They were around 10th overall, but just like the other Lancer WRC with Ari Vihavainen, they didn't get far from SS8, as they retired in the finish of the stage; it is not quite clear why though.
2016
The car returned on the 2016 FRC season opener, the Arctic Rally, with Mikko Eskelinen, who was competing with co-driver (and Ralliart works team veteran) Arto Kapanen, who returned to this car for the first time after the 2003 Deutschland Rallye! Well, back to the actual event: they did well, and finished 3rd (although only because Nikara retired from the lead on the final stage). Not a bad debut with the car!
They returned on the second round of the Finnish Championship, the SM Vaakuna Ralli. They struggled a bit in the dark, but on the final day moved up the leaderboard, and finished 6th overall and 4th in SM1 class.
The third round of the FRC was the Tahko Ralli. Just like the sister car (KP51 RWO), they had a pretty uneventful start, but as the day progressed, they climbedhigher and higher, eventually reaching the finish in 3rd overall, meaning that this is the first time in years that two Lancer WRCs of any kind have graced the final podium at the same time!
During scrutineering, SM Tahko Ralli 2016 (Ralli SM)
Next up was the Enset Oy SM-Ralli. They hoped for a good result given the stage characteristics, but that didn't come to fruition. They finished 6th overall and 5th in SM1 class, and were a minute behind the trio fighting for 3rd place. However, these were still good point for the championship, where they have a chance for the podium.
The penultimate round of the 2016 Finnish Championship was held in Turku, with a very strong entry list - although OC Veiby was missing from the frontrunners. Eskelinen and Kapanen couldn't take advantage of the Mitsubishi's strong engine as exactly this failed and they had to retire.
The last round of the 2016 Finnish Championship was as usual the Pirelli Ralli, held in Tampere. They prepared with a good test for the event, and they were in the fight for the podium when they lost 22s on SS6, then retired in checkpoint 7B with a blown engine, likely caused by an electrical problem. Hopefully they can sort out the reliability issues that plagued them in the end, and get good results with the car next year.
2017
The car was refurbished before the season, and also got a brand new livery, dominated by Mad Croc Orange. They started the year well, finishing 10th on the Arctic Rally against much younger and faster cars.
2018
She has returned to action on the Rally Finland with Mikko Eskelinen again, as part of the Vetomies event. The rally started well, as they won the first stage, but had to retire on the penultimate one with a transmission problem.
2019
She returned to the stages on the Arctic Rally, with the usual Eskelinen-Kapanen crew aboard. They started well, going around 10th place, but unfortunately a sensor broke and they had to retire. They returned under SR rules, and after setting a good time on the first SS of day 2, they were forced to retire again due to mechanical problems.
2020
She was back in action after a year of absence with Eskelinen&Kapanen on board, rocking a brand new livery as well. For the first time after 2017, they finished the rally, 14th overall and 10th in the SM1 class. Good to see the car still rocking!
Interestingly, the three KR02 DL-cars' chassis numbers are the opposite direction as the alphabet goes (DLZ - C012, DLX - C015). Well, to say the least, I don't have to keep a long story short, as she had only three rallies during her entire career, and was unlucky enough not to finish any of them; not exactly a fairy tale...
She debuted as an asphalt car for Alister McRae on the 2002 Deutschland Rallye, but was forced to retire after the turbo blew up.
It is not the best when you have something like this coming out of the exhaust... (Petr Fitz)
Her next event was Rally Sanremo, but McRae had injured himself prior to th event. In fact, his problems were worse than they thought, and had to withdraw him from the event.
As the glowing brakedisc shows, you have to tackle a lot of corners in Sanremo (motorsport.com)
It is just a mere irony that Jani Paasonen, the substitution driver for McRae in GB got to drive her, but after being really off the pace, he crashed the car really badly, ending the season and the car on a low, too.
Her first gravel rally was her last one - ever... (motorsport.com)
Whereabouts
She was crashed on the last event before Mitsu went for a holiday season, and a new car was in the works, so it's safe to say she wasn't repaired, instead, fed to the grim reaper.
Paasonen never made half work...
Track record
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Retirements: 3
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)
2001
Well, just like all of the Y-registration plate works cars, she didn't last long before she was scrapped. But don't rust too much ahead, here's how it started. (But before that, I just found some interesting pics: the car as a half Group A-ish, half WRCar-ish mix, still with RHD, etc... )
Y4 MMR was a show and later test car, and even just days before she was used in Sanremo at the debut of the Evo WRC, you could sit in it at the Geneva Motorshow. Wow, right? Her first (and throughout 2001 only) driver was Freddy Loix. The event was going very bad, as the team had big problems with the transmission, which resulted in sometimes the complete loss of grip, or random wheel-blocking. So, they ended up in 12th position, over 7 minutes behind the leader. Talking of a bad debut, yeah...
Bad debut, worse result, 2001 Sanremo (Mitsubishi)
Her next event was Corsica, and there was little to none hope that the team can sort out the problem in 2 weeks, but the stage times proved to be better: still, the car was slow (was it really? I mean there weren't a rally where the circumstances were good enough to validate the car), but it was improving. Unfortunately this didn't show in the result (12th, 13m behind leader Puras). But this was due to bad weather, punctures, and ECU problems.
Through one of the '1000 corners', as they call the rally (Mitsubishi)
She was then rebuilt to gravel spec, and flewn down to Australia for her first gravel event. The starting position in Australia is more important than anything else, so Freddy starting 3rd was a bad sign... And indeed, the times were bad, but that was also because of some transmission issue. In the end, they ended up in 11th after a two minute penalty.
On the famous, ball-bearing like Aussie gravel, 2001 (Mitsubishi)
Next up was Rally GB, the last event for both Mäkinen and Loix in the team. The rainy weather certainly gave the tone for the event, as many was indeed crying in pain: Mäkinen retired on the first stage, and three (!!!) gearboxes broke in Y4, forcing Loix to retire after an otherwise great performance.
If you think about Rally GB, what comes to your mind? Exactly... (Mitsubishi)
2002
She was used in various test session around 2001 Dec - 2002 Feb.
As a test car again, 2001 Dec. (Mitsubishi)
Her last appearance came on the Rally Sweden, with Jani Paasonen. The duo worked well (unlike one of his teammates), but a broken suspension meant they had to settle for 14th.
2002 Sweden (Internet)
Her last event was Rally Cyprus 2002, with Jani Paasonen. He was the leading Lancer of the three, but had to retire after ripping a wheel off on a concrete kerb.
Interesting to note that Jani only got really worn cars at first... (motorsport.com)
Whereabouts
She was scrapped in 2002, and was never converted to Step2. Track record
Starts:6
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Best finish: 11th (2001 Rally Australia)
Retirements: 2 (2001 Rally GB & 2002 Rally Cyprus)
