Mitsubishi in motorsport shake-up

Ralliart Europe will continue to run the cars, but will do so under the supervision of Mitsubishi Motorsport, a new company formed by the Japanese manufacturer to oversee all its motorsport activities.

This season Mitsubishi scored only nine points and finished joint bottom of the WRC manufacturers standings, tied with Skoda. It was the team's first full season campaigning the WRC-spec Lancer, which has replaced its highly successful Group A machines.

Speaking of the team's current form, Mitsubishi senior vice-president Ulrich Walker said: "We are concerned. I am more than nervous about the current situation. For a couple of years we have been winning, and maybe one of the reasons [why Mitsubishi had a poor season] was they have had too much success in the past. If you have too much success you forget the competition."

"But we are committed to the WRC for three to five years," he added. "However, we have to win within three to five years and for me that means to be in the top three manufacturers."

The company also revealed that it was considering switching from running the Lancer to a Colt WRC. The head of Mitsubishi Motorsport, Sven Quandt, said: "We are investigating everything. The Colt is currently under a very detailed study, we are asking what will be all the consequences for this car, on the engineering side and on the marketing side. But we also know that in the WRC, the Lancer has a heritage, especially in Japan. We expect to make a decision within the next four months."