Mitsubishi pajero sports dakar

MITSUBISHI PAJERO/MONTERO takes victory with a second overall win
Outstanding 1-2-3 finish

The MITSUBISHI MOTORS team began the development of the 1992-year model for the 14th event, and at the same time, it started designing the Okazaki Proto No.3 car. Based on the high powered 1991 model, the new 1992 prototype implemented improvements focusing on improved reliability, such as solutions to address the driveshaft problems that occurred during the previous event. The MITSUBISHI MOTORS team participated in the event with 1992 prototypes driven by Shinozuka and Fontenay, as well as new teammates Erwin Weber of Germany, Hubert Auriol and Bruno Saby, both of France. In addition, it was decided that Masuoka would participate in a highly reliable evolved 1990 model prototype in the modified production car class.

For the first time, the 1992 event was set to finish in Cape Town, South Africa, rather than in Dakar, Senegal. The participants competed during 23 days and covered a total distance of 12,441 km, including 5,680 km of competitive stages (SS). The broad scale event passed through 11 countries across the African continent. Again starting in front of the Château de Vincennes in Paris on December 25, the caravan crossed the Mediterranean Sea, entering Africa at Misratah in northern Libya, heading southward to Niger, Chad, and Central Africa, then traveling through Gabon and Cameroon on January 8, finally taking a rest day in the harbor city of Pointe Noire in Congo. In the second half of the rally, after going down the Atlantic coast to Angola, the participants passed to Zaire by ferry and entered Namibia, and on to South Africa. They reached Cape Town on January 16. The scene was set to go way beyond the vast desert expanses. It was almost the same as that of the traditional Dakar Rally up until N’Guigmi in southern Niger. However, when entering the tropical region in the southern part of the vast continent, drivers faced many difficult stages, such as fast straight roads through the savannah or narrow paths through the jungle. In one section, the front runners churned up heavy clouds of dust causing mayhem for the following participants. A total of four SS sections were cancelled in Chad due to safety issues.

At the very beginning of this long and tough rally, the PAJERO/MONTERO driven by Auriol posted the fastest time and took the lead. The PAJERO/MONTEROs dominated the top five positions in the special stages held in Niger, with Shinozuka in second and Weber in third, forming a leading trio and increasing the gap to the Citroëns in the first half of the rally. While Saby crashed out and Fontenay was forced to retire, Auriol defended the lead until the end and won the overall classification. He was followed by Weber in second place, and Shinozuka, third, marking the PAJERO/MONTERO’s second victory since 1985 with an overwhelming 1-2-3 finish. On the other hand, Masuoka finished 20th overall due to hub bearing problems and other circumstances that prevented him from improving his ranking. Thai rally driver Siriwattanakun Ponsawan finished 28th at the wheel of a long wheelbase PAJERO/MONTERO powered by a V6 engine entered in the modified production car class.

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MITSUBISHI MOTORS’s courageous withdrawal
PAJERO/MONTERO evolves into the ultimate off-road machine

For the 16th running of the event, the MITSUBISHI MOTORS team developed a 1994 model based on the Okazaki Proto No.3 with enhanced aerodynamic performance. While the wheelbase of the car was identical to that of the 1993 model, the track was widened and the suspension stroke increased. Wind tunnel tests showed that the aerodynamic shape of the body drastically reduced air resistance. The engine was radically improved, the maximum power increasing from 320PS to 350PS and the maximum torque from 45 kg-m to 51 kg-m. This was achieved by raising the supercharging pressure, together with improvements to the pistons and a revised shape of the combustion chamber and intake ports. The 1994 model of the PAJERO/MONTERO Prototypes were driven by Shinozuka and Saby while the 1993 model were entrusted to Weber and Fontenay. In addition, Masuoka and Ponsawan continued to participate in T2 specification short wheelbase PAJERO/MONTERO versions.

The 16th event featured a unique «Paris-Dakar-Paris» course that returned to Paris with Dakar as the intermediate U-turn point. It went from Paris to Morocco via Granada, then headed southward on the coastline of Mauritania to reach Dakar. After a rest day, the second half of the competition moved northward again toward Paris through Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain. The total distance was 11,813 km, including 4,714 km of competitive stages (SS), and the finish was at Euro Disney in the suburbs of Paris.

As soon as the full-fledged competition started after landing in North Africa, Bruno Saby dropped the front end of his PAJERO/MONTERO into a gully, losing 4 hours. In the first half, the PAJERO/MONTEROs driven by Shinozuka and Weber followed Lartigue’s Citroën until the event’s turnaround point in Dakar. However, in the second half of the event, disaster struck during the 680 km stage from Atar to Nouadhibou in Mauritania, an area nicknamed «The Dunes of Death» by the participants.

The harsh desert conditions trapped all the vehicles in the sand dunes forcing the organizers to cancel the stage for the motorcycle category and to stop the car category at the fifth checkpoint (CP), which was at the 246 km marker. However, the top group of cars that had already managed to get through had to carry on until CP 8 at 376 km. The two Citroëns incurred time penalties because they bypassed that section without going through CP 8. Only the two PAJERO/MONTEROs driven by Saby and Fontenay fought a 30-hour battle to finally make it to CP 8. More than 200 cars got bogged down in the treacherous dunes. However, the organizer canceled the SS sections from the CP5 to CP8 because they assumed that the cars that were yet to arrive would never get through. The organizers imposed a time penalty to the vehicles that were unable to reach CP 5. The MITSUBISHI MOTORS team lodged a protest against the decision, but it was unfortunately rejected. Afterwards, considering the safety aspects resulting from the state of exhaustion among the drivers/navigators, MITSUBISHI MOTORS Team director Ulrich Bremer decided to withdraw the team’s prototypes. On the other hand, Masuoka, continued the race and clinched the fourth overall position in the modified production car class. Also, Bob Ten Harkel of Germany won the non-modified production car class, resulting in the PAJERO/MONTEROs winning two categories. Although Saby and Fontenay withdrew from the rally, the MITSUBISHI MOTORS team was awarded a special prize for their fighting spirit and the team’s courageous withdrawal was praised by the media.

Result

Ranking	Driver name	Manufacturer	Time
1	P. LARTIGUE	CITROEN ZX	044:29’27»
2	H. AURIOL	CITROEN ZX	+01:28’35»
3	P. WAMBERGUE	PROTO BUGGY	+12:22’27»
4	H. MASUOKA	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+14:34’51»
5	F. GERMANETTI	NISSAN TERRANO	+17:04’56»
6	K. LOPRAIS	TATRA 815	+17:21’58»
7	RIVIERE	Prototype BUGGY	+17:47’56»
8	G. VISMARA	SSANGY FAMILY	+17:59’34»
9	T. DALMAU	MERCEDES 500GE	+18:02’25»
10	B. TEN HARKEL	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+18:36’14»

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End of the Prototype era

MITSUBISHI MOTORS developed the 1996 model PAJERO/MONTERO Prototypes with a shortened wheelbase and a weight reduction of 50 kg. Their aim was to achieve both high-speed stability and a high level of turning capability, using data gathered through the experience gained during the previous event. While there were improvements to the engine responsiveness, it was required to be fitted with a 34 mm restrictor which reduced the maximum output to 300PS. After the end of the previous event, the organizers disallowed the various manufacturer works teams and their prototypes by deciding to prohibit gasoline turbocharged engines from 1997. As a result, the history of the PAJERO/MONTERO Prototypes, which had continued since 1985, finally came to a close with the 1996 model. That year, the MITSUBISHI MOTORS team opted for a lineup with Shinozuka, Saby and Fontenay driving the PAJERO/MONTERO Prototypes, and Masuoka participating with the RVR Prototype, that shared its platform with the PAJERO/MONTERO.

The 18th event started in Granada, Spain as was the case the previous year, with a rest day in Zouérat, Mauritania. In the latter half of the rally, the event passed through Mali, which had not been included in the itinerary for four years due to political unrest, after which it reached Guinea then headed north to Dakar, Senegal. This year’s competition covered a total distance of 7,579 km, with 6,179 km of competitive stages (SS). The number of participating vehicles, which had been increasing again since the 1993 event, totaled 295, of which about 40% made it to finish.

In the final showdown for the prototypes, the Citroën team, who had announced its withdrawal from the discipline after that year’s Dakar, resolutely aimed for a victorious end to its fight against the PAJERO/MONTERO Prototypes in order to leave a lasting impression in the event.

Once the high-speed stages began, incidents occurred one after another. Shinozuka, who had set the fastest time in the prologue special stage at a soccer stadium in Granada, got stuck in a rut and damaged his suspension while driving at high speed on an African special stage. After waiting a long time for his support team to repair the damage, he was unable to regain his pace, loosing considerable time as a result.

Subsequently, Saby was forced to retire after overturning his car, rolling four times. The RVR driven by Masuoka ranked third after the end of the first half of the event, maintaining his position as the race entered its second half. However, he went off the track when trying to avoid a local truck that appeared in his way on a special stage, damaging the front end of his vehicle. With only four days left before the finish, the mishap set him back to fifth.

To add to his despair, he hit a stump hidden in the grass and damaged the suspension in the next to last special stage, slipping back to sixth overall.

Teammate Fontenay kept up a constant pace with no major problems, ranking third overall. Masuoka finished sixth overall, Saby landed in seventh, and Shinozuka was 17th. Despite their efforts, they were unable to resist the onslaught from the Citroën team. On the other hand, Jean Pierre Strugo of France, Migel Prieto of Spain and Carlos Sousa of Portugal, dominated the non-modified production car category with a 1-2-3 class result and tenth to 12th places in the overall standings. In addition, French driver Tambay ranked 13th overall and second in the modified production car class.

Result

Ranking	Driver name	Manufacturer	Time
1	P. LARTIGUE	CITROEN ZX	65:44’38»
2	P. WAMBERGUE	CITROEN ZX	+01:11’54»
3	J-P. FONTENAY	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+01:42’13»
4	A. VATANEN	CITROEN ZX	+01:49’53»
5	S. SERVIA	CITROEN ZX	+03:16’45″‘
6	H. MASUOKA	MITSUBISHI RVR	+06:26’20»
7	B. SABY	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+11:06’06»
8	G. VISMARA	SSANGYONG MUSSO	+20:22’40»
9	T. DELAVERGNE	NISSAN TERRANO	+21:17’09»
10	J-P. STRUGO	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+23:38’51»

Ranking	Driver name	Manufacturer	Time
1	P. LARTIGUE	CITROEN ZX	65:44’38»
2	P. WAMBERGUE	CITROEN ZX	+01:11’54»
3	J-P. FONTENAY	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+01:42’13»
4	A. VATANEN	CITROEN ZX	+01:49’53»
5	S. SERVIA	CITROEN ZX	+03:16’45″‘
6	H. MASUOKA	MITSUBISHI RVR	+06:26’20»
7	B. SABY	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+11:06’06»
8	G. VISMARA	SSANGYONG MUSSO	+20:22’40»
9	T. DELAVERGNE	NISSAN TERRANO	+21:17’09»
10	J-P. STRUGO	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	+23:38’51»

Spec

1996 Pajero

Overall length	4,420 mm
Overall width	2,070 mm
Engine model	4G64, 4 cylinder, DOHC, Turbo-charged
Displacement	2,416 cc
Maximum output	300 ps
Maximum torque	60.0 kg-m
Fuel tank capacity	420 L

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