http://media.mitsubishi-motors.com/p...etail1389.html

Tokyo, December 14, 2005― Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has announced that it has decided to suspend participation in the FIA World Rally Championship series from 2006.

With the Mitsubishi Motors Revitalization Plan as a basis, MMC has made a solid start toward revitalizing its business operations. However, to strengthen and build upon this base, MMC realizes that it must focus management resources on the continued promotion of the revitalization plan.

Mitsubishi Motors hopes to return to the WRC Championship series from 2008, after the completion of the 3-year revitalization plan, which covers fiscal 2005 to 2007.

This decision however does not extend to MMC’s efforts in the Dakar Rally (commonly known as Paris-Dakar). Mitsubishi Motors will continue to compete in this event.

-- Starting with an overall championship in the Safari Rally in 1974, the Mitsubishi WRC Team has accomplished a spectacular 34 wins in the WRC series. The team won the drivers’ title 4 consecutive years from 1996 to 1999, and won the prestigious manufacturers’ title in 1998.

I know they are hurting and Im sure they will be back to support the EVO X, but it just sucks to lose another factory team

 

The factory RALLIART Mitsubishi team was slowly improving and driver Gigi Galli posted some remarkable stages late last season.

Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution WRC entry was improving as much as Subaru was slipping backwards and would have made for an interesting 2006 season. The only way for the SWRT to prove itself as the top team is to have competition worthy of being champions. If the factory-sponsored field continues to thin, there is little reason for Subaru to continue to contest the World Rally Championship.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

Not good news for the WRC.

 

Galli got boned on the descision too, as he had an offer to be the second driver at Ford. He turned it down to stay with Mitsubishi, then got the call that Mitsubishi was pulling out next year...