Mitsubishi not contending the 2003 WRC!!! Whats going on there then:confused:???

From what i heard ....
Mitsubishi wanted to do the wrc without "Ralliart" been involved !!
but by the time they realised they did'nt have the know how or logistical back up like Ralliart does....it was to late...so they pulled out of '03 WRC ....they will be doing some rounds from what i hear and are also contesting the SCCA Pro-Rally in the USA :)
with a certain Mr.Higgins and Vermont Sports Car :)
and finally they'll be back in full swing for the '04 WRC :D

Andy...
more info below
from www.rally-live.com
Mitsubishi competing in North America
Will take part in SCCA's ProRally Championship [20/01/03 - 19:22]

Mitsubishi is attacking the
North American rally scene
ven though it is not part of the 2003 World Rally Championship, Mitsubishi isn't taking a year off. Indeed, Mitsubishi Motors Anglo-American Rally Team will compete in the SCCA ProRally Championship, whose opening round is this week-end in beautiful northern Michigan.

The two Team Mitsubishi Motor Sport America Lancer Evolution rally cars will be driven by two champions on all nine rounds of the 2003 SCCA ProRally Championship, together with the Rallye International de Quebec (a round of the Canadian Rally Championship) on Feb 26-March 2. They will be driven by reigning overall SCCA ProRally Champion, British driver David Higgins and his co-driver Daniel Barritt, and the reigning two-wheel drive SCCA ProRally Champions, American driver Lauchlin O'Sullivan and his veteran co-driver Mark Williams.

The new structure's president will be Vermont SportsCar's president Lance Smith while John Kennard will be its Team Manager. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) has increased its involvement in the SCCA ProRally Championship for 2003, and unveiled its new rally team - which has the full support of Mitsubishi Motor's performance arm Ralliart - at the recent Los Angeles Motor Show.

Pierre Gagnon, MMNA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Lancer Evolution represents the essence of the Mitsubishi brand and, in its street legal form, has the highest thrill for dollar ratio on the planet. With the Lancer Evolution's incredible performance and uncompromising pedigree as a champion racer on the World Rally circuit, it was natural for Mitsubishi's to choose the SCCA ProRally Championship to showcase our company's passion for competition and engineering excellence to North American enthusiasts.”



[Edited by Weasel 555 - 1/24/2003 9:57:32 PM]

The WRC version of the Lancer was no match to the Impreza, Pugs, Focus and Citroens. So they decided to pull out and instead use their resource on development.

And they lost their sponsor Marlboro before making this announcement. guess losing 25 million quid in sponsorhip kinda makes running the team even more exspensive.

Shame they always crashed well.

They must be serious about the EVO release over here (US). It seems like all of Mitsu's WRC resources might get used on the ProRally team.