Having steered the petrol-powered Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13 to victory on September's PAX Rally, which visited the same part of Portugal as this weekend's Baja, Stéphane Peterhansel is ideally qualified to compare the performance of the Racing Lancer with that of its predecessor. "I was especially impressed by two things over the past three days," he reported. "The first concerns the engine: the new 3-litre V6 marks a big improvement in all areas, but it is especially strong out of the slower turns. You can feel the torque and acceleration of the turbo-diesel powerplant pull you through the corner and give you the speed for the next straight� The car's other main strength is its chassis. An event like the Portuguese Baja calls for a specific configuration and we essentially defined a basic set-up for the weekend by extrapolating from what we learned in Morocco. Those settings worked extremely well, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ability of the suspension to soak up the terrain, as well as by the front-end's directional precision."

"Although this event was short, the conditions turned out to be quite varied, and that was obviously positive for our mission here in Portugal," added co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. "The terrain was essentially twisty, but quite fast and very delicate, too, so we were able to establish some good benchmarks. We also succeeded in keeping to the initial game-plan to win with a big enough margin to cover a possible puncture on the final day."

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart will remain in Portugal after the Baja Portalegre 500 for a little further testing before spending time in Spain, for engine calibration work at high altitude. With the 2009 Dakar fast approaching, the car which contested this weekend's event will continue to be used for testing duty, while the official shakedown of the four cars currently under construction for the rally itself will take place in France (Le Creusot), on December 15, before their transport to South America by plane five days later.

Final Standing

1  Peterhansel-Cottret    Mitsubishi Racing Lancer 6:11:48
2  Campos-Baptista        BMW X3                   +  4:03 
3  Barbosa-Ramalho        BMW X3                   + 10:37
4  Van Deijne-Van Deijne  Mitsubishi L200          + 24:02
5  Grancha-Primaz         Nissan Navarra           + 25:18
6  Leal dos Santos-Luz    BMW X5                   + 26:51
7  Zapletal-Ourednicek    Mitsubishi L200          + 28:56
8  Ramos-Vitor            Toyota RAV 4             + 36:04
9  Gameiro-Dominguez      Nissan Navarra           + 41:34
10 Sousa-Silva            Isuzu D-MAX              + 46:35

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