Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi—according to Team Mitsubishi Ralliart director Hiroshi Masuoka, these are the top three teams gunning for the 2024 Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR 2024) overall championship. And as of the halfway point of the six-leg event, the two-time Dakar Rally winner’s pre-race predictions are proving correct.
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart is running for Triton Rally Cars this year, and the leading #103 Triton—driven by AXCR 2022 champion Chayapon Yotha and co-driver Peerapong Sombutwong—is currently in second place. Yotha and Sombutwong made up ground in the third leg to finally overtake the #106 D-Max of the Isuzu Suphan Explorer Liqui Moly Rally Team, which had been in P2 during the first two legs. Meanwhile, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s #115 Fortuner leads by just over seven minutes.
This is the second year that Team Mitsubishi Ralliart is running the current Triton in AXCR. The model made its debut in the series last year, but it fell short of defending the previous-generation Strada’s overall championship in 2022 and settled for third place behind a Toyota one-two.
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In a bid to reclaim the title, this year’s Triton Rally Cars feature more updates, the most notable of which are the six-speed sequential transmission and four-link rear coil springs instead of the previous manual gearbox and beefed-up leaf-spring setup. The Super Select 4WD-II system has also been replaced with full-time four-wheel drive. Further weight reduction is achieved by using carbon fiber on the front fenders, the front and rear doors, and the outer cargo panel.
The result of these changes is a more developed car, Yotha said: It has more power and is easier to drive.
Walkaround: Team Mitsubishi Ralliart’s Triton Rally Car for AXCR 2024
Katsuhiko Taguchi, who drives the #107 Triton, agreed with this, adding that while the sequential transmission improves shift time by a seemingly minuscule 0.1sec, that will all add up to a significant time reduction when you consider how many gear changes the driver makes throughout the entire event. As for the suspension improvements, they have made the Triton much more stable through corners and over bumps: “Tires are now holding the road every time, so [the car] is easy to drive.”
AXCR 2024 still has three legs left to run, so we’ll see if Team Mitsubishi Ralliart can overcome Toyota Gazoo Racing’s strong start. Who’s your money on?
More photos of the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart’s Triton Rally Car for AXCR 2024:
