Ralliart has for many years been well-known for the high level of support it gives to a wide range of teams all around the world competing in international motor sport. In 1999, Ralliart will be supporting a wide range of private entries on the legendary Granada-Dakar Rally.

Ralliart will be supporting an incredibly strong list of entrants drawn from around the world for this forthcoming marathon rally event. Driving Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport/Montero Sport, crews from as far afield as France, Japan, Germany, Portugal and Spain will converge on Granada, Spain on December 31, 1998 to take part in motor sport's ultimate challenge - a 17 day dash through North Africa to Dakar.

There will be many famous names driving Pajeros/Monteros and Pajero Sport/Montero Sport in this event. Last year's victor Jean-Pierre Fontenay is returning to defend his crown in the Team PIAA Ralliart Pajero/Montero, and the first Japanese driver ever to win the event, Kenjiro Shinozuka, is entered in Team Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart's T2 (Modified cross-country cars) Pajero/Montero.

Although Fontenay and Shinozuka's machines will be a very similar specification to the one's used in the 1998 event, over the year since the last Dakar Kenjiro Shinozuka has competed in the 1998 World Cup for Cross Country Rallies series in the PIAA Mitsubishi Dealer Team's T2 Pajero and the resultant extra data and experience gained with this vehicle have allowed development work to go ahead unabated. Due to this work some new components have been developed and incorporated, and the already fantastically high level of reliability that Mitsubishis are famous for has been further improved. This has resulted in an even more formidable machine for the Dakar, and it will be needed because they will face stiff competition in their quest to get their second crown in this event.

Other famous names using Mitsubishi vehicles will also be present. The strongest German lady driver Jutta Kleinschmidt with her T2 Pajero/Montero, Spaniard Miguel Prieto with his T3 (Prototype cross country vehicles) Pajero and hard charger Hiroshi Masuoka driving his T3 Pajero Sport / Montero Sport of Team Ralliart will be aiming for their first win. Of course, the technical developments that have gone into Fontenay and Shinozuka's machines have also been incorporated into their vehicle. Portuguese driver Carlos Sousa will enter with T3 Mitsubishi Strada, as will 1998 World Cup for Cross Country Rally Marathon Trophy Drivers' Champion Sven Quandt and amiable French businessman Jean-Pierre Strugo each with a T1 (Production cross-country cars) Pajero/Montero. Famous former French ski competitor Luc Alphand with his T2 Pajero/Montero will be competing for honors.

The 1999 Dakar will be the 21st running of this famous event, widely regarded as the toughest and most challenging in motor sport history. Around 300 competing crews in cars, trucks and motorbikes will tackle the Prologue stage near Granada before the real competition starts on January 1, 1999 with a twisting 115 km stage through the Andalucian hills in Spain, before heading for the north coast of Africa by boat.

Once in Africa they will face rocky, rough tracks along the west coast of Morocco following an unusual route for the "Dakar", passing through Rabat and Agadir before turning west at Tan Tan and heading into the dreaded Sahara Desert just three days from Granada.

After crossing a sea of sand dunes, spectacular mountain passes and even dipping into the African bush, the surviving crews will enjoy a rest day in Burkina Faso. Then they will strike west again, heading back into Mauritania and eventually reaching the capital, Nouakchott, before heading south along the Atlantic coast toward the final destination of Dakar in Senegal, and the celebration at the finish on the shores of the famous Rose Lake.