Duval crashes out while leading in MML Sports Lancer WRC05

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Posted: November 9, 2009 3:28 PM

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Duval crashes out while leading in MML Sports Lancer WRC05

Posted: November 9, 2009 3:23 PM

Francois Duval crashed out of the lead of this weekend's Condroz Rally while at the wheel of the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Car. The Belgian was leading the event, the final round of the national championship by 15 seconds when he went off the road close to the end of the first day and damaged the Lancer too much to continue.

As expected from the pre-event test and the official shakedown, Duval was immediately on the pace, one again demonstrating how easy the Lancer WRC05 is to drive quickly. He was second fastest on the first three stages to Pieter Tsjoen in a one year-old Ford Focus WRCar but took the stage win on the fourth timed test of the day to close the gap to just 3.6seconds.

Tsjoen took another win on the next stage but Duval then took a hatrick of stage wins and with it, the overall lead of the event from the sixth stage. By the end of the eighth stage, he had built-up a 15.6 second advantage over Tsjoen with just two stages of the first day remaining.

Unfortunately, Duval went off the road 2Km from the end of the day's penultimate stage, the 6.58Km Ben-Ahin test and hit a concrete telegraph pole. This broke the Lancer's suspension and he lost the wheel and the complete suspension assembly. Unable to continue, he retired from the event on the spot.

Commenting on the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: "Of course, we're extremely disappointed that Francois went off the road and retired from the lead. He clearly got to grips with the Lancer WRC05 very quickly and like so many drivers this year, showed that in the right hands, it is a rally winner.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't to be this weekend. I understand that there was a problem with the notes and Francois took too heavy a cut on a right-hand corner and hit the bank. This pushed the car out to the left and into a concrete telegraph pole on the exit of the corner. The car ran down the pole, which ripped most of the side of the car off, including the complete left rear suspension corner.

"What's most disappointing is that I think the win was in the bag. We had been making changes to the car's settings at Francois' request all day; changing geometry, ride heights, roll bar settings and damper settings. The car was clearly improving with every stage and by the last service, Francois said that he felt like he had been driving the car for years.

"With the prospect of a 23Km stage in the darkness at the end of the day, I feel that he could have added another ten seconds to his advantage for the second day. This would have left him able to establish a more relaxed pace to the finish, to bring the car home for the win.

"Had he done that, then that would have given MML Sports a 100% win ratio for every customer in every country this year. But it's encouraging to know that the car is obviously very competitive, especially against the Focus, it was 100% reliable as it has been all year and the MML Sports team worked at 100%, as always."

The team will be out in action again next weekend, as Dutchman Mark van Eldik is contesting the Rallye Isla Tenerife, the 35th running of the event. Based in Santa Cruz, the nine-stage event takes place on Friday 13 November and Saturday 14 and will see Van Eldik up against a huge field, which includes Subaru and Ford WRCars, as well as several GT class cars, notably Ferraris and Porsches.

Francois Duval to drive MML Sports Lancer WRCar

Posted: November 2, 2009 11:41 AM

Former works rally driver and rally winner Francois Duval will drive an MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Car on next weekend's Condroz Rally. The Belgian driver will contest the final round of the national championship in the Lancer, one of the few World Rally Cars he has not driven in his career.

Although Duval has never driven the Mitsubishi, he is apparently looking forward to trying it, having seen the success the car has brought to drivers around Europe in the last two years. Run by MML Sports, the company formed from Ralliart Europe, which ran the Mitsubishi works rally team, the WRC05 has been developed and improved in recent months and the results are becoming clear.

The two-day event begins on the 7th November and will see stiff competition for Duval. Fellow Belgian and former Mitsubishi works driver Freddy Loix will also be competing in the Peugeot 207 Super 2000, with Patrick Snijers in a Subaru WRCar and Pieter Tsjoen in a Ford Focus WRC. Therefore, it will be no walk in the park for Duval but based on the competitiveness of the Lancer WRC05 so far this year, MML Sport is confident that he can adapt quickly.

Commenting on the news, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; "We are delighted that Francois will be driving the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 on the Condroz Rally. Francois' speed and skill are without question and we are looking forward to seeing him prove how competitive we know the car is and do well on the final round of the Belgian championship.

"This will be the first time that the Lancer WRCar has run in Belgian and once again, it will be up against younger World Rally Cars. However, as we have seen in Holland with Mark [van Eldik] and Hungary, a Lancer WRC with a good driver, such as Francois, is a very potent combination and I'm looking forward to next weekend."

The event sees crews tackle ten stages on Saturday, totalling 165Km on a particularly long day of rallying. The first car is away at 08.00 and is not expected back into service at the end of the day until 22.00, meaning at least three stages in full darkness. Sunday is a far easier day, comprising six stages of 104Km in total.

Another win for MML Sports’ Lancer WRCar

Posted: October 12, 2009 12:44 PM

There was another event win for one of MML Sports' Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Cars this weekend, when Mark van Eldik took victory on the Nederland Rally. The local driver was competing on his third event in the WRC05 and like the previous two, set a string of fastest times and with no problems, took the event win with a margin of more than one minute.

Van Eldik laid down the gauntlet early, claiming the stage win on the first timed test by three seconds. On the second stage, he was joint fastest with a 2006 Ford Focus WRCar and second fastest on the third stage.

However, on the fourth stage of the day, the Ford slid off the road and out of contention, losing four minutes while getting back on the road. From that point on, van Eldik controlled the event from the front and posted top three stage times on the remainder of the tests, establishing a pace fast enough to ensure victory but without taking any risks.

Commenting on the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; "We're delighted that Mark was able to take his first outright win on only his second proper rally in the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05. This weekend was a difficult rally, as the conditions meant that the stages were wet in places and dry in others, with differing levels of grip as a result.

"However, Mark found the perfect rhythm in the car, saying it gave him confidence in those conditions. He likes it so much that he is now planning another event in Germany next weekend and we hope he can have the same success there."

While van Eldik will not be able to compete on the final round of the Dutch Rally Championship, Easton hopes to run another Lancer WRC05 on that event.

Frustrating weekend for MML Sports drivers on Rally Latvia

Posted: October 6, 2009 3:29 PM

This weekend saw frustration for the two local drivers of MML Sports' Mitsubishi Lancer WRC World Rally Cars on Rally Latvia, the final round of the National Rally Championship. Ivars Vasaraudzis got stuck in a ditch on the first stage and finished fifth while Raimonds Kisiels struggled to find his form in the appalling conditions and four months after the last time he drove the car.

The weather in the run-up to the event was truly dreadful. High winds and heavy rain caused standing water across much of the stages and meant that the normally solid sandy roads became waterlogged and extremely soft. Many depressions became water splashes and the levels of grip changed dramatically for the competitors, from corner to corner.

Vasaraudzis made a rare mistake early on in the event, when he spun on the first stage. Ordinarily this wouldn't cause a problem but the car went off the road into a ditch and it took the crew three minutes to get back onto the road. They discovered that no damage had been sustained and set about trying to recover as much of the lost time as possible.

Vasaraudzis and co-driver Peteris Spredzis went on to set the fastest time on each of the following six stages that formed the event. However, with a limited amount of stage mileage, they were unable to reclaim the top spot and eventually completed the event in fifth place, having dropped as low as 54th overall.

Team-mate Kisiels and co-driver Gatis Lanavas admitted that they were rusty at the beginning of the event, having not driven the Lancer WRC competitively since early on in the summer. They also approached the event and the very tricky conditions in a conservative manner, not wanting to risk damaging their car or suffering a similar fate to Vasaraudzis. They went on to finish eighth, half a minute behind Vasaraudzis.

Commenting on the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: "I can't remember the last time I saw conditions as bad as this in the run-up to a rally. It really was like a hurricane, with the rain and the winds. I looked at some of the stages on Sunday and there were huge pools of standing water on most of the corners, so it was clear things were going to be very tricky.

"Ivars made a very rare mistake early on and it cost him dearly. However, he came back with his trademark speed and although he took the win on each of the remaining stages, there weren't enough for him to get the lead back. Raimonds also put in a good performance, considering he hadn't been in the car for so long and was very wary of the conditions. On the whole, I think it's a shame that Ivars didn't get the win but sometimes, that's how it goes."

While most of the MML Sports team were in Latvia, two more of the company's cars were competing on Rally Indonesia. It had assisted in the preparation of two Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoXs to take part in the Indonesia Rally Championship and was delighted when one of the cars finished the event second, on its debut in the region. It was driven by Sadakin Aksa, who finished the event behind brother and Pertamina Bosowa Rally Team team-mate Subhan Aksa. The second MML Sports EvoX suffered a heavy roll early in the event and although it managed to regain the road, the loss in time meant that despite a string of excellent stage times in the afternoon, it was unable to finish better than sixth place.

Commenting, Easton said; "We are delighted that the two EvoXs put in such a good performance. Second place to their team-mate was an excellent first outing for Sidikal while the times put in by Akbar Hadianto in the second car after the damage was repaired were also very encouraging."

Successful weekend of business and pleasure for MML Sports

Posted: October 2, 2009 1:31 PM

This weekend saw another two days of frantic activity for MML Sports, the organisation formed from the former Mitsubishi works rally team. While Mark van Eldik was contesting his second event in Holland in the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car, former works driver Alister McRae was also putting the Lancer WRC05 through its paces at RallyDay, the UK’s foremost spectator event.  

This was the second event for Van Eldik, the first two weeks ago when he set the fastest stage time on half of the Amsterdam RallySprint less than two days after driving the car for the first time. This time, on the Hellendoorf Rally, he continued where he left off, leading the event by the mid-point of Saturday morning. He was facing much stiffer competition this time, with no less than 14 World Rally Cars on the event, including a pair of 2009 Subaru Imprezas and a 2008 Ford Focus.  

However, his chances of claiming his maiden win on only his second event were cut short after a gearbox hydraulic system actuator bracket broke and he was forced to drive using the mechanical shift instead of the paddles. While this didn't cause any great loss of time, his relative lack of time in the car led to a pair of spins later in the day. He still put in an extremely good performance though, to take third overall behind the Focus in first and one of the Subarus in second.  

While van Eldik was competing in Holland, the rest of the team were at the Castle Combe racetrack in Wiltshire, UK for RallyDay 2009. The event brings together some of the most iconic cars and drivers from rallying and with no pressure for a result, all put on an incredible show for the legions of spectators.  

Former Mitsubishi works driver Alister McRae was at the wheel of another MML Sports Lancer WRC05 for the event and didn't disappoint. He carried out a series of runs during the day, co-driven by several winners of charity auctions and raffles run by MML Sports.  

As the main objective of the day was to show off the Lancer WRC05, Alister approached the event with his trademark flamboyance, sliding the car at huge angles and performing a routine of donuts, spinning on the spot to rapturous applause from the crowds. He was also over-run when he returned to the MML Sports service area, where fans were queuing for autographs and MML Sports merchandise in equal measure.  

Not only was McRae delighting the crowds, his car was also rigged with four High Definition video cameras, as the organisers of the event focussed on MML Sports for a video to be produced to promote the event. There were also a further three cameras outside the car, recording his every slide and donut and the resulting video will be available to view on YouTube as well as the MML Sports website in the coming weeks.  

Commenting after the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; "This was a fantastic weekend for us. Of course, it's a shame that Mark didn't achieve the result that it looked like he might be able to get but it's also extremely encouraging that he was able to set fastest times against much younger World Rally Cars and we're pretty happy with that.  

"The response to the company and Alister back in a Mitsubishi at RallyDay was also amazing. Our service area was mobbed all day and it is very gratifying to be able to chat with rally fans from all around Europe. We are also very excited about the prospect of seeing the video that the RallyDay organisers were filming at the event and are honoured that they chose to focus on us and Alister for the film.  

"Our next weekend of activity will also be a busy one, as we will be running two World Rally Cars on Rally Latvia, as well as a pair of Group N EvoXs on Rally Indonesia, which we have helped the local team develop for the remainder of the 2009 Asia Pacific Championship."

First test to first stage win in 45 hours in MML Sports' Lancer WRC05

Posted: September 9, 2009 8:52 AM

MML Sports pulled out all the stops for a new customer at the weekend, with less than 48 hours between the first test drive in the UK for Dutch driver Mark van Eldik and his first stage win on the Amsterdam RallySprint. The Dutchman was immediately at home in the MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car, taking three wins from the six stages just two days after driving it for the very first time.

Van Eldik was in the UK on Friday to test the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 with a view to competing on the car in Holland later this year and into next season. MML Sports had arranged an early test for the Dutchman at the MIRA test-track close to its Rugby headquarters and van Eldik drove the car for the first time at around noon on Friday.

He was impressed with the car immediately yet wasn't sure that it would prove competitive against other World Rally Cars running in Holland. He was keen to find out just how competitive the Lancer WRC05 could be, so asked MML Sports Managing Director John Easton if it would be possible to contest the Amsterdam RallySprint, a 60Km one-day single venue event, on the Sunday.

Easton takes up the story; "I was quite surprised when Mark asked if we could get a car and the support team and equipment to Holland for an event on the Sunday. However, as we consider ourselves a works team, it was just another challenge. Having agreed the deal at 5.30pm on Friday, I arranged for a car and lorry to travel to Holland over Friday night and through Saturday to ensure that we had the hardware in place. It was then a case of getting a couple of additional mechanics to staff the event and we were ready to go."

Van Eldik was understandably apprehensive on the start line of the first stage, with no less than 12 World Rally Cars, including a 2007 Ford Focus WRC and an S14 Subaru Impreza forming his competition for the day. However, he threw down the gauntlet by setting the fastest stage time on the opening test of the event, the first time he had ever driven the car in anger.

He went on to take the fastest time on two more stages of the six-test event. His chances of an outright win on his first rally were cut short when he stalled on the start line of a later stage though. A lack of time in the car meant that he lost 20 seconds as he went about restarting it to continue. He also hit a kerb on another stage, causing a puncture which then caused the tyre to come off the wheel rim.

However, despite these problems, van Eldik was clearly impressed with the MML Sports Lancer WRC05 and is now looking into further events for the remainder of the 2009 season and beyond.

Commenting on the weekend, Easton said; "I couldn't be happier for Mark. I think to achieve what he did this weekend with almost no experience of the car is fantastic and demonstrates that not only is he clearly a talented driver, the MML Sports Lancer WRC05 is a very easy car to drive quickly. And as I have said before, it shows clearly that we, as an organisation, can react very quickly to changing or new situations to get the maximum return for everyone.

"After such a successful first run, Mark is now looking at various options for the rest of this season and I hope that we won't have to wait too long until he claims his first outright win."

Vasaraudzis wins in MML Sports' Lancer WRCar

Posted: September 4, 2009 8:51 AM

Latvian driver Ivars Vasaraudzis claimed another event victory last weekend, when he won the Kerzume Rally, the penultimate round of the Latvian Rally Championship, at the wheel of an MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car. Ivars was standing-in for regular driver Raimonds Kisiels and won six of the ten stages and was second-fastest on the rest, to reach the finish with a healthy margin of 36 seconds.  

Vasaraudzis and co-driver Peteris Spredzis are no strangers to either rallying or the MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Car; they won the Talsi Rally in May using the same car and therefore, were favourites for this event. There was more competition this weekend though, since Georg Gross, a protégé of former World Rally Champion works driver Markko Martin was also competing on the event, in a Ford Focus World Rally Car.  

The scene was set for a first-class fight from the first pair of superspecial stages. Vasaraudzis and Gross took a stage win each on Saturday evening, their times separated by fractions of a second. Vasaraudzis and Spredzis went on to take a further five fastest stage times on the Sunday, dropping 11 seconds on the penultimate stage to Gross as they suffered a puncture and dropping a further two seconds on the last test of the event.  

However, despite this, they reached the finish of the event with a convincing win, more than 36 seconds ahead of Gross after the ten stages.  

Commenting on the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: "Of course, we are delighted that Ivars and Peteris were able to demonstrate their competitiveness and determination this weekend. We know that they are quick and consistent, as we saw on the Talsi Rally in May and this weekend's result is nothing less than what we hoped for.  

"They clearly have a taste for the MML Sports Lancer WRCar, as they will also be competing on the final round of the national championship, Rally Latvia, in October, alongside Raimonds. We will have at least two Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Cars out on that event, so while that will be a busy weekend for us, it will also be a fantastic spectacle for rally fans in Latvia."  

MML Sports' next outing in Latvia will be Rally Latvia, over the weekend of 3 and 4 October.

Workload means MML Sports unable to contest Kerzume Rally with EvoX

Posted: August 21, 2009 11:19 AM

Mitsubishi rally specialists MML Sports Ltd will not be running its Group N Lancer EvoX on the Kerzume Rally next week as originally planned. The company has three other conflicting programmes on the same weekend, according to Managing Director John Easton and therefore, the EvoX’s next outing will be either in the UK or Latvia later in the season.

The Kerzume Rally was originally planned to be the next official outing for the MML Sports Lancer EvoX following its debut in Latvia in May. The car showed great potential at the hands of reigning British Rally Champion Guy Wilks but was hampered by faulty components and Kerzume was chosen as the next outing, following a comprehensive development programme over the summer.

However, since then, the MML Sports orderbook has filled up quickly and it has had to redirect resource to other existing and new customer projects over the same weekend and as such, can no longer run its own car on that particular event.

It will, however, be running local Ivars Vasaraudzis and co-driver Peteris Spredzis on the event. Ivars and Peteris will be standing in for regular Raimonds Kisiels, whose cannot make the event, but they are no strangers to rallying in Latvia or the Mitsbishi Lancer WRC05. The pair won the Talsi Rally earlier this year in the Lancer, so will be firm favourites for next weekend.

However, they won’t have it all his own way, since one of former FIA World Rally Championship driver Markko Martin’s protégés will also be entering the event, in a Ford Focus World Rally Car. Therefore, the level of competition should be high, guaranteeing exceptional action for the fans.

MML Sports will also have several of its technicians in Indonesia, as it assists a local organisation prepare four Group N Lancer EvoXs for the domestic and Asia-Pacific championships, three of which will be running during September.

As if that wasn’t enough, the company will also be repairing the damage caused when reigning Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller went off on the last round of the championship, the Allianz Rally two weeks ago. Spitzi apparently lost concentration in a medium-speed series of bends, slid wide on a second-gear corner and got stuck in a two metre-deep ditch and retired.

While the damage caused to the car is repairable, the tight timescales between the last and next round of the championship and the fact that the car had to return to the UK entailed a re-shelling exercise rather than more time-consuming repairs. The original shell will subsequently be repaired and returned to action when the work is complete.

Commenting on the news, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; “Of course I’m disappointed that we won’t be able to enter the Kerzume Rally with the MML Sports EvoX but with everything that we have on at the moment, we cannot spare the resource to get the car ready or to the event. As frustrating as it is to miss that event, it’s encouraging that we are so busy.

“Clearly, the end of August and September are very busy for us. We have to concentrate on giving Spitzi the best chance to win his second title in a row, which is definitely possible. He is still second in the championship to Norbert Herczig with two rounds to go. With the dropped scores, he does need to beat Herczig on the last two rounds though, so that’s one area of focus.

“I think the next outing for the EvoX may well be in the UK, perhaps the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, the last round of the British Rally Championship at the end of September. We may also enter the final round of the Latvian Championship, Rally Latvia, as it's the flagship event and the most competitive. That will really give us an idea of where the car is, in terms of its competitiveness.”

Just one week before the Trackrod Rally, the company will be in action running both the Group N EvoX and the Lancer WRC05 at Rallyday, with former Mitsubishi works driver Alister McRae at the wheel.

MML Sports continues development of Group N EvoX and Lancer WRCar

Posted: July 23, 2009 8:05 PM

Following what it described as a successful first outing for its Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX rally car, MML Sports has confirmed a raft of developments that have taken place on the car, ready for its next outing in August. The company has also carried out a development program on the engine of the Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car that will give Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller an advantage and will be rolled out across the fleet of eight WRCars imminently.

It was clear from the Group N EvoX’s debut on the Talsi Rally in Latvia in May that although it was already a very well developed car, there was plenty more to come. As a result, the company has been working hard since that event to ensure that more of its potential is realised next time out.

The exhaust issue that denied MML Sports and driver Guy Wilks a better result in Talsi has now been resolved; a external manufacturing fault led to two defective catalytic converters unknowingly being used on the car, which severely reduced engine power output and hampered progress.

The company has also carried out more work on the engine dyno, concentrating on the mapping and fuelling systems. The result is an outright increase in both torque and power but just as importantly, greatly improved driveability thanks to the work on the torque curve.

Much work has been carried out with BOS, the damper manufacturers, to further improve the specifications and settings, for a variety of conditions and surfaces to deal with all types of rally, from smooth tarmac to rough gravel.

MML Sports has also revisited the base shell in an effort to refine the detail work and by revising the EvoX’s underfloor protection and bodyshell, has managed to remove an additional 20Kg in weight from the overall car, with obviously improvements in performance and handling.

The developments will not only be incorporated into MML Sports’ own EvoX for its next outing, they will also feature on the four cars which the company is currently building locally in Indonesia for the Asia-Pacific and Indonesian championships.

MML Sports itself will next be in action on the Kerzume Rally in Latvia, over the weekend of 28 and 29 August. Once again, Guy Wilks will drive the EvoX on the event, which forms part of the Latvian Rally Championship. The rally will be preceded by a UK test in mid-August and this will be followed by a two or three-day test in Latvia immediately before the event, to fine-tune the car’s set-up.

Commenting on the development work, MML Sports Ltd Managing Director John Easton said: “When we debuted the Group N EvoX in May, we knew that there was much more to come from it and we are starting to unlock its true potential now. The engine work we have carried out should mean that the car is not only quicker but also easier to drive and combined with the reduced weight, should give a significant improvement in pace. The damper work will also have a big benefit on the handling, which has already been praised by Guy.

“We have chosen the Kurzeme Rally as the next outing because like Talsi, the level of competition will be very high and we need that to demonstrate just how competitive our Group N EvoX is. Like Talsi, it was a foregone conclusion to ask Guy to drive the car again, since he gave so much useful feedback on the first event and is extremely quick.

“I hope that this time, we have a clean run and as a team, can show what we know the car is capable of.”

In the meantime, MML Sports will be in action again with reigning Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller, as he tackles the next round of the 2009 series, the PECS Rally over the weekend of 1-2 August. The company has also been carrying out a development program on the Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car that Spitzi uses and feels that the gains will give him a definite edge.

Once again, the focus of the work has been on mapping and fuelling and gives what Easton describes as a ‘significant improvement’ over the engine’s previous specification.

“I think that the engine work on the Lancer WRC05 for Spitzi will definitely give him an advantage,” said Easton. “The 2008 season was predominantly gravel, his favoured surface but 2009 is mainly tarmac. This work is part of an on-going development program to move the car and Spitzi forward together, as an all-round winning package and I’m confident we’ll see the benefits of this on the PECS.

“These improvements will then be applied to the remaining seven Lancer World Rally Cars on the fleet, which we hope to see in competition in the near future.”

Spitzmuller takes another rally win with MML Sports

Posted: July 8, 2009 5:54 PM

Reigning Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller won this weekend’s Veszprem Rally at the wheel of his MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Car. In doing so, he is now just a single point off the championship lead as he defends his title against no less than five other World Rally Cars and several Super2000 models in this hotly-contested series.

Spitzmuller and co-driver Miki Kazar were firm favourites for the win before the event, having taken victory on the rally for the last two years. This was also the first gravel event of the 2009 series, the first three rounds having run on asphalt. And while Spitzi and Kazar had acquitted themselves well on the sealed surface events, both were looking forward to a return to the loose.

And as it transpired, with good reason. Of the eight stages forming the event, spread over Friday 3 and Saturday 4 July, they took three stage wins and a raft of top three times. This ensured they reached the end of the event with no mistakes or problems and a 13 second lead over Turi Tamas in second place, in the S12B Subaru Impreza World Rally Car. The S11 Subaru of Herczig Norbert finished in third place while the Peugeot 307 World Rally Car was fourth.

This result puts Spitzmuller in a solid second place in the championship, just a single point behind Norbet, with three rounds of the championship still to run, two on asphalt and one on gravel.

Commenting after the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: “We knew Spitzi was the favourite this weekend and he didn’t disappoint. He and Miki had a clean run with no problems or mistakes and that, combined with three stage wins, meant he took the victory. That boosts him to second in the championship, which is an excellent position to be in at this stage of the season.

“I think that even though the next two events are back on tarmac, we’ll see Spitzi and Miki hold their own. We’ve carried out some major development work on the car that should give them an advantage for the next round. We’re very happy with the progress we’ve made, which should give their Lancer WRC a power increase of around 15bhp but more importantly, an additional 40Nm of torque.”

The next event is the PECS rally, over the weekend of the 1 and 2 August.

MML Sports voted runner-up in new business awards

Posted: June 26, 2009 2:37 PM

The company formed from what was the works Mitsubishi rally team, MML Sports Ltd, was voted runner-up in last week’s Rugby Chamber of Commerce New Business of the Year Awards. This bears out the clear potential which led to MML Sports being formed by John Easton and a number of former Ralliart Europe employees at the beginning of the year.

MML Sports Ltd was one of 12 companies to be nominated for the New Business of the Year award by the local Chamber of Commerce. Of those 12, it was also one of the five that were shortlisted for the final, presented at a gala dinner last week.

And while it was not voted as the New Business of the Year, Managing Director John Easton was not disappointed: “I have to say, we were surprised to be there at all. For 12 companies to be nominated and five shortlisted, to be runner-up was a fantastic achievement, I feel, particularly as the company has only actually been in business for five and a half months.”

The order book for MML Sports justifies its inclusion in the running for the award. It has recently been commissioned to build three Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoXs in Indonesia for the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and the Indonesian Rally Championship and currently has a team of technicians on site, working with the local technicians building the cars and preparing them for their competition debuts.

“The build of the three cars had already begun when they contacted us,” explains Easton “but we have been able to integrate the vast majority of our parts to ensure that the cars will run to MML Sports specification as much as possible. We will also be supporting the cars in both the Indonesian and AS-PAC championships to maximise the chances of success for the team. “

Easton will also be travelling to Lebanon next month for a series of meeting aimed at introducing the Group N EvoX to the Middle East, one of the most hotly-contested regional championships in rallying. The company has also received significant interest in the hire and purchase of several Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Cars, from France, Barbados and other Eastern European nations.

With interest in its products and services so high, the company is not resting on its laurels. It is continually developing the EvoX, with additional engine work scheduled for July prior to another test to evaluate the engine and suspension work ready for its next competition outing in the late summer.

In the meantime, the company will run Csaba Spitzmuller in the next round of the Hungarian Rally Championship, the Veszprem Rally over the weekend of 3-5 July. This is the first gravel round of the series and Spitzi’s favoured surface; that, combined with the fact that he has won the event for the last two years, should ensure that he and co-driver Miki Kazar start the event as firm favourites.

Summing up, Easton was understandably buoyant about the first summer for MML Sports. “When we launched the company at the start of the year, I couldn’t have hoped that we would have been this busy by the summer,” he said. “Interest in the Group N EvoX is huge and the car is improving all the time, as we continually develop every aspect of it. I think the car that will compete towards the end of the summer will be a big step forward from what we already consider to be a good car. The fact that we are getting interest in it from around the world suggests that the motorsport community seems to feel the same way.

“Now that people are starting to understand that we also have eight Lancer World Rally Cars on the fleet available for hire or for sale, interest in them has soared as well. We know that they are still very competitive at national and regional levels, as Spitzi has shown in Hungary and Ivars [Vasaraudzis] in Latvia and we hope to have more of those competing towards the end of the year.”

Testing weekend for MML Sports nets outright win for WRC Car and useful first outing for Gp N EvoX

Posted: June 26, 2009 2:36 PM

Rally Talsi (Latvia) - 16-17 May 09

MML Sports prepares for EvoX debut on Rally Talsi

Posted: May 8, 2009 1:45 PM

The MML Sports Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX rally car underwent a successful shakedown test this week in preparation for its competition debut next weekend in Latvia. Reigning British Rally Champion Guy Wilks drove the car, ahead of an event-specific test in Latvia immediately before he gives the car its competition debut on the 2009 BTA Rally Talsi.

This was the first time that Wilks had driven the car, following initial test and set-up work by MML Sports and its test driver. And despite the fact that the UK test day was more about shaking the car down and carrying out engine mapping work, the BRC champion was upbeat about the MML Sports Group N EvoX and the forthcoming event.

“I understand that generally, the EvoX is considered to be a step forward from the EvoIX I’ve been used to. The rear of the car is apparently more stable and the engine characteristics are quite different. My first impression of the MML Sport EvoX was good; the car felt well put together. However, it’s impossible to gauge just how competitive it is likely to be, since today’s testing was more about familiarisation, systems checking and mapping work on the engine.

“It won’t be until we get to a gravel road next week at the pre-event test that we will find out more about how it behaves and its potential. And then, once we start the event, we’ll see for sure how good it is.

“I think what’s important though is that the MML Sports team has a huge amount of experience and the decision to drive the MML Sports EvoX in Latvia was a bit of a no-brainer. For me, if I don’t think that the car can win, I won’t bother driving it. The only way for me is forward and I need to know that everything is right and that’s definitely the case with MML Sports.”

The decision to debut the car in Latvia was taken primarily because of the level of competition in the Baltic nation. Latvia has one of the longest and richest histories in rallying and according to MML Sports Managing Director John Easton, was the obvious choice to debut the car.

“We chose Latvia because we feel it will be the best proving ground for our EvoX. Rallying is incredibly competitive over there and there are a lot of top-specification Group N cars competing. In addition, on this event there will be some exceptional drivers, including locals, Finns and champions, so there will be genuine competition for Guy. We’re expecting something in the region of 40 top class Group N cars, including EvoIXs and EvoXs, so we will have a genuine understanding of how competitive our car is.

“We chose Guy to drive the car as he is clearly a quick driver; double British champion and when you look at his time in the Production car World Rally Championship, he was quicker than any of the drivers out there. He’s also very sensible and has lots of EvoIX experience, which means he will be able to give excellent feedback to the team.

“I think both the team and Guy realise that this weekend won’t be a walk in the park; he’ll have to drive well and as a team, we’ll use all of our experience to get the best result possible.”

The 2009 BTA Talsi Rally will take place on the 16th and 17th May and is the 29th running of the event. The event marks the transition from the winter part of the Latvian championship to the summer season, since the events preceding Talsi are run on snow and ice. Spectator interest in rallying in Latvia is generally incredibly high but Talsi regularly tops the scales with 40,000 fans expected to attend the 100Km event next weekend.

The rally begins with a double-run superspecial around the streets of Talsi town on Saturday afternoon, showcasing the drivers for the fans before the remainder of the rally stages on Sunday. However, with a relatively short total distance, the sting in the tail will be the final stage, which comprises almost 33% of the total competitive running, at 33.4Km.

This year’s event is shaping up to be something of a ‘Rally of Champions’. British Champion Wilks will be facing competition from Finnish champion Juha Salo, the Latvian champion Aivis Egle, Lithuanian champion Vytautas Svedas and the Estonian champion, Ott Tanak.

There will be more work in store for the MML Sports team as well, since in addition to its own EvoX, the team will also be running a pair of Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Cars. One will be driven by Ivars Vasaraudzis and Peteris Spredzis and the other, Raimonds Kisiels and Gatis Panavs. Vasaraudzis and Spredzis won the event outright for the last two years and therefore, are firm favourites for this year’s overall honours.

The organisers have included an added attraction for spectators, with a ‘Drift-off’ following the finish of the event, matching drivers competing in the rally with the best of Latvia’s drift drivers to see who has the best sideways skills.

Determined performance nets Spitzmuller fourth

Posted: May 7, 2009 9:59 AM

A determined performance by Csaba Spitzmuller in the MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 netted a fine fourth place this weekend on the Miskolc Rally, after the Hungarian rally champion made a rare mistake and damaged his car. Spitzi fought back from 16th to fourth by setting fastest times on almost all the stages after he went off and damaged the rear suspension on the event’s third timed test.

The Miskolc Rally is, by Spitzi’s own admission, his bogey event even though it is also his home rally. However, he approached it with his trademark professionalism, as did the MML Sports team as they prepared and ran the World Rally Car that Spitzi used to claim last year’s national title, as well as the outright win on the first event of this season.

Another tarmac event, it began well for Spitzi and co-driver Miki Kazar. However, it was in the third stage of the event where the problem would occur. The pair went off the road and hit a rock or tree stump with the car’s rear wheel. While this didn’t cause any structural or body damage, it did break the damper top mount on that corner of the car, meaning that the wheel was effectively disconnected from the car.

The crew lost one minute as they limped out of the stage and they incurred a further 1min10secs of penalties as they brought the car carefully back to service for repairs to be carried out.

The experienced MML Sports mechanics, used to operating under pressure, quickly set about the car and replaced all the damaged components as well as checking the settings for the car’s suspension, all within the specified time allowed. Therefore, Spitzi and Kazar left service in a perfect condition car with no further time penalties.

Spitzi then spent the rest of the event on a charge to recover the lost time and maximise his points haul. Having dropped to 16th following the problems, he spent the rest of the first day and all the second consistently setting fastest or second-fastest stage times, against stiff competition, comprising no less than six other world rally cars.

By the time the crews reached the finish ramp, he and Kazar had climbed to fourth place overall, a tantalising 7.9 seconds adrift of third and a podium position.

Commenting on the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: “It’s a shame that Spitzi wasn’t able to get a better position but I think all things considered, this is a good result. I think had there been more stages and additional distance, he would easily have climbed higher and without the accident, would have been looking good for another win.

“However, a rare mistake by him caused the damage to the rear suspension. He admits that they were going quite quickly when they went off and although he doesn’t know exactly what they hit, it was solid enough to break the damper top mount. This was replaced at service and I’m very pleased with the job the MML Sports technicians did to make sure the car was repaired completely and got out on time.

“The accident aside, it was a very good rally: seven World Rally Cars demonstrates the level of competition in Hungary and I’m sure that without the time lost, Spitzi would have been trading times with all the drivers for the win. I know that this is Spitzi’s least favourite event of the season but at this point last year, he had a second and a DNF. This year, we have a win and a fourth, so we’re in a better position than the same time in 2008, when he took the title for the first time.”

The next event sees Spitzi and Kazar compete on tarmac for the third time so far this season, as they tackle the Salgotarjan Rally on the weekend of 16/17 May. 

This will be another busy weekend for MML Sports, since as well as running Spitzi in Hungary, the company will also be debuting the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX Group N car on the Talsi Rally in Latvia. In addition to the EvoX, MML Sports will also be running two more Lancer World Rally Cars on the same event and supporting Finnish Champion Juha Salo. British Rally Champion Guy Wilks will give the EvoX its competition debut on an event that already has no less than five national champions on the entry list.

Busy weekend full of success for MML Sports

Posted: April 10, 2009 10:38 AM

While last weekend was one of the busiest in recent years for MML Sports, the company formed from what was the triumphant Mitsubishi works rally team, it was also a weekend full of achievement. Not only did the company complete a successful initial test of its Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX, it also ran reigning Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller to victory on the opening round of the 2009 series.

The Group N EvoX test took place at Walters Arena, the venue for several of the stages forming the UK round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The company chose to use two roads, one fast and flowing and the other, tighter, twistier and rougher, as it sought to develop a base set-up for the car.

The main objective of the two days was for test driver Lasse Lampi to work with damper supplier BOS to develop initial settings and a fundamentally balanced chassis, ready for former British Champion Guy Wilks to further refine the car set-up prior to its competition debut in Latvia in May.

Before this test, MML Sports was unsure how the BOS dampers, used on the Mitsubishi World Rally Cars since 2005, would suit the group N car. As it transpired, very well over both types of road. The team assessed a variety of dampers, with various valving options, arriving at a base setting that would allow adjustment in either direction once fitted to the car.

In addition to the damper settings, MML Sports was also able to develop initial differential settings over the 200Km test. The company now has a clear direction of how to further develop and refine the settings ready for its competition debut.

While half the company was in Wales testing, the other was in Hungary helping ‘Spitzi’ prepare to open his 2009 campaign defending his national title, which he won for the first time last year when using the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 run by MML Sports.

As is tradition, the Eger Rally began with a prologue stage through the centre of the local town on Friday evening, before 12 stages, eight on Saturday and the remaining four on Sunday.

Spitzi faced some stiff competition, in the form of a pair of Subaru Impreza World Rally Cars, both more recent than his Mitsubishi. However, this didn’t stop him from assuming the overall lead of the event from the second stage and maintaining it throughout the rally to the finish ramp. He eventually won the rally with a 13.8 second lead, which he carefully maintained over the course of the two days to ensure he took the win without risking problems on the first event of the year.

Commenting on the weekend, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: “It was a busy few days for us all at MML Sports but ultimately, extremely successful. The first test of the Group N EvoX went very well and we achieved more than we hoped over the two days.

“This was the first time we have used WRC dampers on a Group N car and the results were excellent. Having BOS in attendance meant that we could be re-valving one set of dampers while another was being tested on the car and then carry out direct comparisons very quickly to arrive at the base set-up.

“I’m also very pleased that Spitzi was able to get his 2009 campaign started with a convincing win. He led from almost the start in the car that he used last year to seal the title, so we’re hopeful that he will be able to take his second successive title at the wheel of what we feel is still a competitive world rally car at a national level.

“While things will calm down for us a little this month, it all gets busy again towards May, with another tarmac event for Spitzi before the first of two tests we have planned for Guy in the EvoX to prepare for the Talsi rally. He’ll carry out one test here in the UK before a pre-event test in Latvia immediately prior to the start of the event.

“I’m delighted with the outcome of the both the test and the Eger rally; it gives us a huge boost and we are very excited about both the next round of the Hungarian championship and the EvoX’s competition debut next month.”

Competition season for MML Sports kicks off next month

Posted: March 27, 2009 10:47 AM

Next month will see the beginning of this year’s competition season for MML Sports, the company formed from what was the Mitisubishi works rally team. April will be a busy month for MML Sports, as it will not only be providing a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Car for Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller to defend his 2008 title, it will also be preparing its Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX ahead of its competition debut.

Spitzmuller, or ‘Spitzi’ will be defending his 2008 title in the same car that brought him his first national championship title. As in 2008, the team will be sponsored by Hell energy drink and will run under the title of the Hell Racing Team.

Spitzi will again be partnered in the car by co-driver Miklos Kazar, himself a successful quad racing champion, as they tackle the Eger Rally, the season opener over the weekend of 2/3 April. They will then contest the Miskolc Rally at the end of the month, 25/26 April with both the first two rounds featuring asphalt.

While Spitzi is more at home on gravel, according to MML Sports Managing Director John Easton, he is just as capable on asphalt. “Spitzi is a quick driver, no doubt about that. And although he’s quicker on gravel, he’s no slouch on asphalt. We’re very excited about helping him to defend his title, which he tried to achieve for years but managed at his first attempt in the MML Sports-run Lancer WRC05 last year.

“It looks like April will be a busy month for us. While we’re running Spitzi on the first round of the Hungarian Championship, we’re also carrying out initial testing on the MML Sports Group N EvoX in the UK. So we’ll be splitting both the management team and the technicians over that weekend, between the UK test and the Eger Rally.

“The initial testing for the EvoX will be carried out by Lassi Lampi, who will determine a base set-up. We will then put Guy Wilks in the car to fine-tune the settings, ready for when he takes the car out for its competition debut, the Talsi Rally in Latvia in May.”

More information on the progress of the Group N Evox will follow in due course.

MML Sports unveils Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX rally car

Posted: March 6, 2009 9:43 AM

The company formed from the core team behind Mitsubishi’s successful World Rally Championship campaign, MML Sports Ltd, today unveiled its Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX Group N rally car. Developed using the expertise and experience which brought Mitsubishi one manufacturer and four driver world titles, the MML Sport EvoX will soon be available to drivers looking for what the company feels is the definitive Group N EvoX.

The MML Sports EvoX Group N rally car has been built to full FIA specification, making it eligible for the Production car World Rally Championship, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and numerous regional and national championships, such as the British Rally Championship.

Because the Lancer EvoX is a relatively young car, there are few off-the-shelf parts available for the subsequent assembly. Therefore, MML Sports set about developing what it needed to build the highest specification of group N car.

A range of parts were designed and built from scratch, including the rollcage and the fuel tank. Developed in conjunction with fuel specialists ATL, the bag tank is located underneath the vehicle floor for safety and to lower the centre of gravity as much as possible.

The overall layout of the suspension remains unchanged but MML Sports worked closely with damper specialists BOS, as used on the Mitsubishi World Rally Cars, to bring WRC-specification damper technology to its Group N car. The transmission uses a Ricardo gear set and while MML Sports is obliged to use the front and rear differentials homologated by Ralliart Inc, it is allowed to fine tune the settings to establish the behaviour and traction.

Control of the active centre differential and the engine mapping however, is free and this is one area that MML Sports has concentrated on, to gain maximum advantage. It is using MOTEC control systems for both the centre differential and the engine, with the development work on the engine carried out in conjunction with long-term engine partner HKS.

The MML Sport Group N EvoX will begin testing in March while its first competitive outing, run by MML Sports, will be in Latvia in April. The driver is yet to be decided but the company has confirmed that it will be someone capable of demonstrating exactly what the car is capable of.

Commenting on the news, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; “We are delighted with the way the MML Sports Group N Lancer EvoX rally car has turned out. When we decided to develop our own version of the EvoX on spec, we knew that we had an edge with the experience we gained in the World Rally Championship and on both the Group A and World Rally Cars. We simply had to apply that to Group N and I feel we have done just that.

“Our goal from the outset was to develop a car that was competitive, reliable and as important nowadays, cost effective. The MML Sport EvoX is available in a range of specifications, so while it is eligible and I’m sure, competitive in the P-WRC, IRC and series like the BRC, it is also attainable for club-level competitors by using a more basic specification, such as the standard fuel tank instead of the bag tank, for example.

“We anticipate that the very highest specification of EvoX will be available for around £120,000, which compares favourably with its competition and is considerably less than a comparable Super2000 car. In addition, the running costs for Group N are significantly lower than S2000, which I would estimate to be on par with a World Rally Car.

“We expect cars to be available for order from April onwards and of course, we will be offering a full parts and technical back-up service. Parts can be ordered directly from our website and we are planning to offer prospective clients an opportunity to come and test the car in the UK prior to placing an order.

“We hope that with our experience and the work we and our partners in this project have put in, that MML Sports will be come synonymous with Mitsubishi Group N rally cars, in the same way that other organisations have with other marques.”

Phoenix from the flames: MML Sports ready for action

Posted: February 24, 2009 8:47 AM

Following one of the most famous losses in motorsport, when the ultra-successful Ralliart Europe operation was closed, the core expertise responsible for five world rally titles for Mitsubishi has been resurrected to create MML Sports Ltd. Based in the same headquarters as the multiple title-winning works Mitsubishi rally team and comprising the same core personnel that delivered one manufacturer and four driver titles to the Japanese marque, MML Sports will pick up where Ralliart Europe left off.

The creation of the new company has been driven by Managing Director John Easton, formerly the Operations Director at Ralliart Europe and as it subsequently became known, Mitsubishi Motorsports. The original rally operation was closed down by Mitsubishi following a unsuccessful period under a management team imposed on Ralliart Europe. Following this, Easton and a handful of former employees saw the potential for the operation to offer the motorsport marketplace the decades-worth of winning experience that reside in the unassuming Rugby-based operation.

Protracted negotiations by Easton, with the support of Latvian businessmen Valdis Spredzis and Andris Dambis, eventually resulted in the formation of MML Sports, an independent organisation in its own right. With that came the hardware that went with Mitsubishi’s 2005 FIA World Rally Championship campaign, including several Lancer WRC05 World Rally Cars and the full range of support equipment.

While the Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car wasn’t able to consistently deliver the results that Mitsubishi required, Easton was able to offer cars to a number of privateers last season, with excellent results. While the process of securing the operation was taking place in the background, Easton and the remaining staff ran a Lancer WRC in Hungary for driver Csaba Spitzmuller and co-driver Miki Kazar, who won the championship outright. They also ran cars in Latvia for Ivars Vasaraudzis and co-driver Valdis Spredzis, who again took their national championship spoils.

But there’s far more than simply providing World Rally Cars and on-event support to MML Sports’ offering. The infrastructure put in place to develop the Lancer WRCars from scratch in 2004 also forms part of the company’s portfolio and with it, every aspect of developing a world class rally car from a clean sheet of paper. State-of-the-art computer design and modelling, bodyshell preparation and test, component manufacture, quality control, electronics, engine and transmission assembly and test and of course, car build as well as logistics and hospitality are all elements of what MML Sports can now offer clients.

This means that MML Sports is able to offer teams as well as manufacturers a full-house development programme, from development work on existing projects to creating a winning car from scratch: All with the advantage of the knowledge and existing infrastructure ready to begin work within a matter of days.

The company is also already well down the road of developing the next generation of Group N Mitsubishi, the Lancer EvoX. MML Sports has recently completed the fabrication work on its test car, which is currently being trial assembled, prior to setting the final specification and its first test. It anticipates that the first Group N Lancer EvoX will begin its set-up testing in February 2009, ready for customers to place orders for cars in early 2009 and certainly in plenty of time for the start of the ‘09 rally season.

A by-product of developing the Group N Specification EvoX will be a range of aftermarket performance conversions for road-going Evos. Since Group N is effectively showroom class, many of the safety and performance modifications will be applicable to road cars and anticipation of these packages has already got the Lancer community excited, with forums buzzing with talk of rally-inspired road cars.

Commenting on the news, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: “I am delighted that we were able to ensure that the expetise that has developed within the Rugby facility can continue to flourish. It would have been an absolute travesty to see the experience and hardware go to waste. There are 20 years of experience, one manufacturer and four driver titles within this building and that simply could not be allowed to disappear.

“The creation of MML Sports from what was Ralliart Europe means that we have no less than eight Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Cars available to private competitors and as Csaba and Ivars have shown, in the right hands, it is a potent and successful tool for any championship. However, there is far more to what we offer.

“For a new manufacturer interested in entering the sport, the existing structure and facilities here mean that there are no up-front set-up issues, both in terms of time and financial commitments. We can be ready to begin development work a matter of days after reaching agreement, giving them a huge head-start over other marques who have to start from the very beginning.

“We’re also very excited about the Group N EvoX project. The car is a huge step forward from the previous generations of Lancers, which were incredibly successful in their own right. It uses a brand new engine and the work we have carried out so far developing the bodyshell suggests that the car will be very competitive once we finalise the specification.

“That will then spin-off applications for road cars. There’s already a genuine buzz about the prospect of modifying packages for the road-going Mitsubishi market developed by the former works rally team, so we’re very excited about that as well.”

Information on the full range of services from MML Sports and news on the rally championships that it supports can be found at the company website:

www.mml-sports.com