A Glorious Heritage Chronological history of Mitsubishi Pajero and the Paris Dakar Rally 1992 Paris - Sirte -Cape Town It was the longest, most ambitious and definitely the biggest challenge ever - the Paris - Sirte - Cape Town took the brave entrants into the unknown through 11 African countries in the first ever transcontinental raid. In addition to the now familiar desert, bush and Savannah sections, the crews and cars were faced with jungle, mud and river crossings and narrow tracks. Those were the planned hazards - there was also a civil warand countless other hazards! Quite correctly, Sonauto Mitsubishi team boss Ullrich Brehmer predicted that the rally would be won or lost in the desert, for thereafter the narrow tracks would severely hamper a losing team as they tried to overtake. The three Prototype Pajeros set off through Libya with this in mind, with ex-motorbike expert Hubert Auriol joined in the team by Kenjiro Shinozuka and German Erwin Weber, they followed the team strategy to the letter, and when the reached the forbidding Tenere desert in Niger, the ultimate challenge began to take shape. A tremendous sandstorm, the greatest fear of any driver and navigator, descended on the desert that day and the backup team waited in Dirkou, Niger, to see who would first emerge from the dust clouds. A cheer went up as first Auriol, then Weber and finally Shinozuka blasted into sight. Brehmer could hardly conceal his glee as he congratulated each of the Pajero drivers on their arrival! For the rest of the event, the Mitsubishi team had simply to rely upon the Pajeros legendary durability and the skills of the back-up technicians - virtues that, with Mitsubishi, are never in question! So it was, after surviving a re-route due to a localised civil war in Chad the following day, where the back-up crews had to jump into planes at the last minute in scenes reminiscent of the fall of Saigon to avoid trouble, that Mitsubishi eventually arrived triumphant in the South African town of Cape Town two weeks later with the Pajeros filling the first three positions. It was an historic occasion, this being the first international sporting event to finish in the country after its acceptance back into the world after political reform, and for Mitsubishi, one of its crowning glories with a 1-2-3 victory that had never been seen before, and is unlikely to be repeated by any manufacturer again. The Mitsubishi Pajero was officially crowned the best off-road car ever! FINAL CLASSIFICATION 1992 Paris - Sirte - CapeTown Pos. Car No. Driver Manufacture Total Time 1. 211 Auriol MITSUBISHI/PAJERO 20:4230 2. 210 Weber MITSUBISHI/PAJERO 00:0453 3. 213 Shinozuka MITSUBISHI/PAJERO 00:1852
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 07:33:55 +0000
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