2000 TOPICS

Ralliart UK is based in Dudley, West Midlands and is the centre of technical excellence for the high-performance range of Mitsubishi cars. With a total staff of 32, and a turn-over in excess of £15 million, Ralliart has a very strong presence in the UK, selling nearly 500 official versions of the awesomely powerful Evolution VI.

Ralliart UK Headquarters in Dudley

Approximately 70% of its business comes from sales of the Evolution VI, VR4 and FTO, the fondly-known ’Evo’ outselling its sister cars after phenomenal success in rally specification in the hands of four-times FIA World Rally Champion, Tommi Makinen.

Ralliart UK has now started to further develop its competition car business, building approximately 10 top specification Group A and Group N cars per year for customers. Sales extend well beyond the UK and into the EC, Eastern Europe, the Americas and as far afield as Africa.

An impressive display of powerful machinery in the showroom

It also works in close collaboration with some of its sister companies around the world and, most recently, jointly built and ran a Group A car with Ralliart Italy. The Carisma GT, driven by former Mitsubishi works driver Andrea Aghini, finished an impressive 15th overall in the recent Rally Sanremo - the 12th round of the FIA World Rally Championship - against strong opposition from no fewer than seven works teams. With one more event to contest this year, the Bettega Memorial in Italy, the team will then be focusing on an all-out assault on the 2001 Italian Rally Championship.

Slovnaft Rally Team driver Michael Gargulak has also had considerable success with his Group A specification Lancer Evolution, again a joint project this time between Ralliart UK and Mellors Elliott Motorsport. The Czech driver, who has one of the first cars to be built to factory specification using Ralliart Japan supplied parts, took victory on the Kosice Rally in only his second outing in the car. He is now focused on a full 2001 programme in the Czech and Slovakia Rally Championships.

ANCRO National Champion David Mann in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT

"Considerable interest has been shown in the Group A car by a number of teams in Europe, the United Kingdom and even the United States", commented Ralliart UK’s Peter Collinson. "Results like these underline its potential and we are talking with a lot of people about cars for next year’s British Championship".

This year, Ralliart UK also ran a Bonus Scheme for Group N cars within what is regarded as one of the top domestic series’ in the world, the British Rally Championship. Forty-year old Gavin Cox, driving a Ralliart UK-supported Evolution VI, took victory in this highly-competitive production car category and, in fact, no fewer than five drivers, in the same machinery, finished in the top six at the end of a closely-fought season spanning six events on the British Isles.

Ralliart UK supports many overseas customers

David Mann, also driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI built by one of Ralliart UK’s customers, Darell Staniforth Motorsport, took victory in the ANCRO National Rally Series this season. Development of the Group A specification car will not however deter from Group N activities and Ralliart UK will continue to support its loyal and successful customers. It has, in fact, recently announced The 2001 Ralliart UK Evolution Challenge, a one-make challenge, comprising eight events, for Group N specification Lancer Evolution drivers. With the intention focused on making this the ultimate one-make series, The Evolution Challenge will run in tandem with the ANCRO National Rally Series, providing a highly-competitive like-against-like series for Group N Mitsubishi drivers.

Ralliart UK is now focused on the Rally of Great Britain (23-26 November), the final and decisive round of the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship. It’s contenders include former World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist, Finland’s Olli Harkki, 2000 Group N British Champion Gavin Cox, and Oliver Clark, son of the legendary Roger Clark. Britain’s round of the series, which for the first time is based in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff, is renowned for its winter weather. Fog, sleet, rain, mud and sometimes snow add to the challenge of what is already a supreme test of man and machinery.