Despite freezing temperatures and inclement weather, Team Mitsubishi Ralliart has declared its shakedown for the new Pajero/Montero on December 19 a great success. The test session was held on an off-road track in Le Creusot, north of Macon in Central France.

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart

The weather conditions were harsh, with temperatures falling below minus eight degrees Celsius. Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt, who last year became the first ever woman to win the Dakar in her Mitsubishi, was joined by Team Mitsubishi Ralliart team mates Jean-Pierre Fontenay of France, and Japanese drivers Kenjiro Shinozuka and Hiroshi Masuoka in their Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil cars.

Kleinschmidt, in particular, was thorough in her shakedown preparations. The women who finally dispelled the idea of the "lady driver" with her Dakar exploits, make videos of her fellow drivers’ efforts to compare, frame-by-frame with her own in an effort to find inch-perfect performance. Such fine attention to detail clearly being one of the secrets of her success as a rally driver.

Overall, the cars performed superbly. With glittering icicles sparkling from the Silver Birch trees in the still, cold mountain air, the test conditions couldn’t have been further removed from the wind, dust and blazing sun of the Dakar Rally. But the tracks were nonetheless rough and conditions harsh enough to thoroughly test the new Pajero/Montero. Under heavy cloud cover, the Mitsubishi drivers blasted hard over the undulating tracks with abandon and confidence, at times leaping up to a metre into the air over jumps, and sliding sideways through rough corners at speed. But even though they appeared to try to break the vehicles, the new cars didn’t miss a beat, despite the thrashing.

Due to the changes in the regulations, the Pajero/Monteros will run in the new Super Production class. Compared to the old T2 Modified Mass Production cars, this new type of machine is 100 kg lighter, and features improved suspension and mid-range engine performance. It also has a five-litre fuel tank to cope with the long distances.

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J. Kleinschmidt / A. Schulz

Kleinschmidt was optimistic after trying her new car, adding: "I don’t think we need a further test session. This car is a big improvement on the last version, and that was good! But who are going to be our rivals? I think that only my teammates will be competing with me. Schlesser’s car is lighter, but that will be a diesel, I think. Perhaps the Renault Kangoo driven by Jose Maria Servia, and maybe the Petrol-powered Nissan Pickups might be strong".

Fontenay was a great deal more cynical and warned: "The overall winner will surely be a Mitsubishi, but we must be extremely careful and be aware that Schlesser is a man who will do anything to win. According to the entry list, he will drive a diesel car, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns up at the start with a petrol engine! The Nissans may also perform well if they prepare properly for the event. The stages will be short, so competition will be very close!"

In the sparkling, icy cold mountains, Masuoka had a warm smile on his face following his test drive. The man who was so cruelly robbed of almost certain victory last year in controversial circumstances declared: "I could definitely win in this car!

After test session was over, a beaming Masuoka said: "No problems at all! The car lands extremely smoothly after jumps and the acceleration is superb. Anything can happen on the Dakar, but with this car I’ll be a man to be hunted, not the hunter!" He continued: "Although there will be an opportunity before the start to make slight adjustments, I feel this is my last chance to try the vehicle before the actual start on December 28".

Shinozuka agreed: "The car is so good that the race for overall victory will be among the Mitsubishi drivers". With a different driving style and preferences, Shinozuka did admit that there were some adjustments to the car he will be making before the start - mainly to the brakes and suspension. He was also more circumspect and restrained in his comments about the competition, adding: "Although Schlesser’s car is powered by a Diesel engine, it might perform well because it is very lightweight".

During December, the drivers not only practised their driving skills, but also their technical abilities as they prepared for the likelihood of having to work on their own vehicles during the marathon sections, which will have to be completed with service support from technicians. One of the routines that they paid particular attention to was replacing the running gear.

Team Mitsubishi Ralliart has completed successful test and training sessions for its technicians, drivers and co-drivers at the Team workshop on the outskirts of Pont Le Vaux near Macon, central France. The training sessions ran from 10th to 21st December and were in preparation for the forthcoming 2002 Arras-Mardrid-Dakar Rally.

The highlight of this year’s event is a double Super Marathon section where the competitors must drive two stages over 1500 km without assistance from the technicians. There are also a number of "looped" stages where no support vehicles are allowed.

In order to prepare for these sections, drivers and co-drivers received extensive training, and tested their skills at disassembling, replacing and assembling the running gear components at the garage. As a result, they now fell confident of dealing with any emergency servicing that might be required during the marathon sections.

"After Mr Ullrich Brehmer’s death, I have been assigned the task of leading this great, prestigious team, and of harnessing its unique, competitive spirit. This has put a great weight on my shoulders. I am fully convinced, however, that our four drivers and four co-drivers are highly competent and talented, and that’s a huge comfort for me. I also feel that in addition to their amazing driving and navigational skills, they also have the technical capability to deal with emergency servicing situations, and so I feel quite confident about the marathon stages. What I have to do as Team Manager is fan the team spirit and consolidate our efforts. But there’s an incredible team spirit here – even when someone says "Good Morning" they mean it from the bottom of the heart – it’s never a mere exchange of words! For this year’s Dakar, if you have a car that needs a lot of servicing, you’ve lost before you start. That’s why our training sessions for technicians have concentrated making everything as easy, organised and fast as possible. We’re now 100 per cent committed to success through teamwork".