Rob’s Blog

As the race is on its final days, things are starting to heat up for Mitsubishi – literally – on the Atacama Desert. Due to technical problems they are unable to finish stage 12, giving them a 6th place in the stage. In finishing they would have received a 3rd place ranking, moving up in the overall race ranking. Here’s an excerpt from Mitsubishi-dakar.com:

The crew Nani Roma and Lucas Cruz of the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team did not succeed in passing the white dunes of the Atacama Desert. The Spanish duo was stuck halfway through the stage while they were still in the middle of the mountains of sand.

An as yet unidentified technical problem prevented them from being able to finish stage 12, where they would have held 3rd place after the driver Carlos Sainz (VW) dropped out.

The Dakar is a difficult cross-country rally and nothing has been won until the finishing line of the last stage has been crossed. All the competitors know this very well, and nobody makes any predictions before that last important day.

What do you think? Can Mitsubishi pull off a win?

If you’re a Dakar fan like me, you’re well aware of Mitsubishi’s role in this epic annual race. 2009 is a year of change for this race – and for Mitsubishi. Due to terrorist threats, the race was moved from Africa to South America and proves to be every bit as challenging as the previous years. To add to this challenge, Mitsubishi has a new vehicle – the Racing Lancer – to attempt to claim their 8th consecutive Dakar win. New terrain and new car – sounds like the perfect Dakar recipe!

Check out the images of the Racing Lancer at Mitsubishi HQ in Cypress, CA. While this one will not be in the race that starts on January 3rd, it’s a replica of the 4 actual race units. Click here to learn more about the Dakar race.