Second overall for MML Sports' return to British stages

Posted: October 11, 2011 10:52 AM - 5572 Hits

Second overall for MML Sports' return to British stages

Posted: October 11, 2011 10:52 AM

This weekend saw the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC World Rally Car return to mainland British rally stages for the first time in six years. Teenage driver Tom Cave took the car to second overall on the Cambrian Rally, the finale of the 2011 BTRDA Rally series.

Cave had already clinched the Production Cup category of the series and was looking to climb higher into the Gold Star driver standings and selected the MML Sports Lancer as his weapon of choice. A short pre-event test showed great promise, with the 19 year-old settling in to the car very quickly.

However, come the start of the rally, the team diagnosed a fault with the clutch unit and immediately swapped it, a process that takes just two minutes. But it soon became clear that the problem was a failing bearing within the gearbox, which meant that the clutch would not disengage and the car had to be started in gear to get moving.

Despite this, Cave put in a strong performance, once again demonstrating how easy it is to drive the Lancer WRC quickly out of the box. He took the scratch time on three of the eight stages and was only out of the top three once throughout the one-day event.

By the end of the rally, he claimed second place overall, nine seconds behind the eventual winner. He was also the first WRCar past the post, ahead of a further four WRCs that made up the entry field.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said:
"It was fantastic to see the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC back on the British gravel stages after such a long absence. It's also encouraging that it and Tom managed to beat the field of other world cars, demonstrating that the Lancer is still very competitive at this level.

"Of course, it's frustrating that we had problems that cost Tom some time but he dealt with them in a very mature way and put in some fantastic stage times. I'm very pleased with the way the team dealt with the issues and hope that we might see the Lancer out on the British stages again."

The MML Sports team was also in action in Holland at the weekend, with Bert de Jong at the wheel of his Lancer WRC on the Nederland Rally. He started as he meant to go on, setting top five stage times throughout the event. He began by holding second overall but was demoted to fourth on the sixth stage. He fought back, reclaiming third only to drop back to fourth again on the penultimate test. He eventually finished the rally in fourth, a tantalising seven seconds off the podium.

MML Sports' next event is next weekend, as Jaroslav Melicharek contests Rally Kosice, the final round of the Slovakian series, in yet another MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer WRC.

MML Sports to run 12 cars on seven rallies in six weekends

Posted: September 15, 2011 12:37 PM

The next six weeks will be extremely busy for MML Sports, the company formed from the ex-works Mitsubishi Rally Team. It will be running no less than 12 rally cars at eight events over the next six weekends, including every type of car it offers on Rally Latvia and returning the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC to British stages for the first time in six years.

This coming weekend, 17-18 September, will see Bert de Jong at the wheel of the Mitsubishi Lancer WRC on the Hellendoorn Rally in Holland. However, while Bert is in action, the team will also be demonstrating its R4 version of the Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX at Rallyday, the UK's premier rally show, with former works driver Harri Rovanpera at the wheel.

The following weekend, 24-25 September will see arguably the busiest and most important event of the series, as MML Sports heads east for Rally Latvia, the finale of the Baltic Nation's domestic series. The flagship event will see three of MML Sports' cars in action: Raimonds Kisiels will be driving the Lancer WRC and Alexander Novokov will be at the wheel of a Group N Lancer EvoX.

However, all eyes are likely to be on Jari Ketomaa, who will again be driving the MML Sports R4 EvoX. After his performance on the recent Kurzeme Rally, where he clearly matched the pace of Ott Tanak in the Ford Fiesta S2000, expectations of a deserved result will be high and both MML Sports and Ketomaa know what the car is capable of.

The next weekend, 1-2 October will see three more cars in action in Germany on the Lausitz Rally, with Bert de John and Mark van Eldik driving Lancer WRCs and Bert's son at the wheel of the R4 EvoX.

It's then back to the UK, where teenager Tom Cave will drive one of the company's Lancer WRCs on the Cambrian Rally, the final round of the BTRDA championship. Cave has already sewn up the Production Cup and Junior Driver awards and is looking to climb into the top three overall, as well as challenge for the Welsh National Rally Championship and Junior driver spoils.

Slovakian driver Jaroslav Melicharek will be in action the following weekend in another Lancer WRC before key members of the MML Sports team head to the Caribbean, where local driver Sean Gill will again be competing in the Suzuki SX4 which the company developed over the 2010/11 winter period.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said:
"We've had busy periods before but I don't recall anything quite like this. We will have 12 cars running on seven rallies over six weekends, as well as Rallyday, so it's going to be quite a logistical challenge.

"Rally Latvia is always a busy event for us and this year will be no different. We'll have Jari in the R4 Lancer EvolutionX again and we're hoping that he can have a representative result after the excellent speed he showed on the Kurzeme Rally. We now know that our R4 EvoX is right on the pace with the aspirated S2000s and I expect Jari to be on the attack from the outset.

"I am also looking forward to seeing the Lancer WRC compete on British stages again. The last time we ran 'at home' was Rally GB in 2005, just before Mitsubishi withdrew from rallying, so we're excited about that and seeing what Tom can do with the car.

"It will also be good to see the Suzuki SX4 running again. Sean [Gill] has definitely got the hang of the car now and was putting in some storming times on his last event, so hopefully, we might see his first outright rally win by the end of next month - that would be a perfect way to round off the next few weeks."

MML Sports Lancer R4 shows excellent pace in Latvia

Posted: September 1, 2011 12:45 PM

Last weekend gave the clearest demonstration yet that the MML Sports-developed Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX R4 has achieved its goal of closing the performance gap to the Super2000 specification of rally cars. Jari Ketomaa set a trio of fastest stage times on the Kurzeme Rally and was denied a possible event win due to a minor mechanical problem.

The MML Sports R4 EvoX has only been actively running since May and the company admits it is treating this season as a development year. Following a two-day test, where Ketomaa covered 140Km, the team was optimistic about the weekend's competition, which included Georg Gross in the Focus WRCar and FIA S-WRC pace-setter, Ott Tanak in his Fiesta S2000.

However, the chances of a representative result were hampered on the very first stage, as one of the Lancer's rear suspension arms failed. But even so, Ketomaa still managed to set the fastest time over the stage, hinting at the potential for the car.

The team took the decision to retire the car from the first of the rally's two days, to repair it ready for a return on day two. Naturally, the SupeRally regulations meant a penalty of ten minutes but neither Ketomaa nor the team were downcast by this.

Normal order was resumed at the beginning of the second day, with Ketomaa taking the win on the leg's very first timed test. He also took the win on the longest stage of the event, the 25Km Neste test and was only outside the top three times once throughout the day's eight stages. By the end of the event, he was 31st overall, 10m01.3s behind the leader. Clearly, without the ten-minute penalty, he would potentially have finished second, 1.3s behind Gross and 12s ahead of Tanak.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said:
"The suspension failure was incredibly frustrating - if we'd done one more run on the test, it would have failed then instead of on the first stage of the rally. But I think that we have very clearly demonstrated the speed of the car and the advances we have made in the three months since we first ran it. The fact that Jari managed to win the stage that the arm failed on says something...

"The car has now done more than 1000Km and considering it is still in its development phase, I'm pleased with the reliability and life of the components so far. OK, we've found a weak point and now we can do something about it - this is all part of the development process. We were just unlucky it happened on the event and not in the test.

"Overall, I'm very happy with the speed of the car and so is Jari. He feels that he is just going quicker and quicker, with more and more confidence and while we made significant progress on the test, there is still more to come.

"We saw this weekend that our R4 Lancer EvoX is genuinely on the pace with the aspirated S2000 cars on gravel now. I consider Jari and Ott [Tanak] to be comparable drivers, in terms of ability and speed and Tanak is clearly one of the front-runners in the S-WRC, so this is very encouraging."

The next outing for the MML Sports R4 Lancer will be the finale of the Latvian Rally Championship, Rally Latvia, on 24 September, when Ketomaa will again take the wheel.

Home win for Vasaraudzis in MML Sports WRCar

Posted: July 5, 2011 11:05 AM

Latvian driver Ivars Vasaraudzis took another win this weekend on the Latgale Rally, fifth round of the national series, at the wheel of his MML Sports-run Mitsubishi Lancer WRC. The reigning champion was at a huge disadvantage running first on the road but was able to resist a determined drive by Georg Gross in the 2008 Ford Focus WRC to claim the event win.

The conditions on the event were typical for the national series; fast and flowing unpaved roads covered with a layer of loose gravel. First on the road was a distinct disadvantage for Vasaraudzis, as he was cleaning the stage for following drivers. And while he and new co-driver Mareks Stirna failed to claim a stage win, a fast time on the opening stage and consistent performances throughout the rest of the event were sufficient to ensure they held the top of the leaderboard from the second stage onwards.

While Gross mounted a huge comeback charge, he was unable to catch Vasaraudzis by the end of the event and came home a close second. Third went to Maris Nieksans, the first of the Group N runners.

Commenting after the finish, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said;
"I'm delighted that Ivars took this win. He was at a huge disadvantage running first on the road, sweeping the surface clean for the following cars. But he kept his head and put in an extremely consistent performance to claim the win in his first rally in the Lancer WRC this season.

"It's good to see that the Lancer WRC is still competitive and that Ivars can jump back in it, having not driven the car for almost nine months and be on the pace straight away. Of course, the win is the perfect result."

Busy times ahead for MML Sports following encouraging Ypres Rally

Posted: June 29, 2011 11:18 AM

While many motorsport series are approaching their mid-summer break, it's the opposite for MML Sports, as it prepares for four rallies in the next three weeks. And it will be buoyed by the performance of Jasper van der Heuvel, who despite finishing 17th on last weekend's GEKO Ypres Rally, frequently split the huge field of Super 2000 cars in his R4 Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX, using the MML Sports R4 kit.

Following Jari Ketomaa's debut in the MML Sports R4 on last month's Talsi Rally, van der Heuvel was the next driver to compete in a car equipped with the MML Sports kit of parts to bring it up to full R4 specification. And he didn't disappoint: On stages where he had a clean run, his times were within the top 15 frequently, peaking at sixth fastest on stage 13 - an impressive feat considering an entry of 30 Super 2000 cars.

MML Sports will be looking for even more success this coming weekend, when Latvian stalwart Ivars Vasaraudzis returns to action in the Mitsubishi Lancer WRCar, on Rally Latgale, the fifth round of the national series. The two-day event may only feature seven stages but it will be the final, 31Km test that will leave an impression and hopefully, see Vasaraudzis claim another victory in the MML Sports-run Word Rally Car.

The following weekend, 8-10 July, will see two events for the company; Bert de Jong will be competing in the Exotic Green Rally, based in Etten-Laur in Holland and at the wheel of his MML Sports-prepared Mitsubishi Lancer WRC. Over the same weekend, Jaroslav Melicharek will also be in action, this time on the Lubenick Rally in Slovakia, also at the wheel of his Lancer WRC.

The following weekend is Rally Estonia, where the company plans to next run Ketomaa in its own R4 Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX. Many competitors from the FIA World Rally Championship are planning to use the event as a warm-up for Rally Finland, since the stage conditions are very similar. MML Sports hopes that there will be a representative field of Super2000 cars on the event to gauge the pace of its R4 car on equal terms.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said;
"It's been a relatively quiet few weeks for us but that's about to change.

"I'm delighted that Jasper was able to put in such competitive times in his R4 EvoX, using our kit of parts. It's a shame that the penalties cost him a better result but it would appear that the R4 kit seems to work well, particularly encouraging on Ypres Rally, which is notoriously difficult.

"I'm also looking forward to seeing Ivars back in the Lancer WRC - he has an excellent track record in the car and hopefully, he'll pick up where he left off and be right at the sharp end. Similarly, Jaroslav has enjoyed some excellent results this year so far and we're hoping he can add to that next weekend."

First win of the season for Melicharek

Posted: May 26, 2011 11:38 AM

Slovakian driver Jaroslav Melicharek claimed his first win of the 2011 season last weekend, when he took his MML Sports-prepared and run Mitsubishi Lancer WRC to outright victory on the Tribec Rally, the third round of the national series.

Following on from his third place on the season opener, he drove a dominant rally, claiming six stage wins from the nine stages that made up the one-day event, based in and around Topolclanska.

The Mitsubishi driver certainly didn't have the rally his own way though - he was facing a 2008 Ford Focus WRC, a Subaru Impreza WRCar, a Skoda Fabia WRC and a handful of Super2000 cars, all lightweight, nimble and particularly suited to the tight and twisty tarmac forming the event.

He and the driver of the Focus, Grzegorz Grzyb, swapped position for the lead five times throughout the event, with Melicharek claiming the scratch time on six of the nine stages. By the end of the rally, although Grzyb had a seven second advantage on the road, the fact that he drove straight through a chicane meant he picked up a ten second penalty and therefore, Melicharek took the event win.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said:
"I'm delighted that Jaroslav has taken a win this early in the season. It demonstrates that he is serious about this year's championship and is clearly at home in the Lancer WRC.

"It is also encouraging to know that the Lancer is still extremely competitive, particularly against younger machinery. We know the car is easy to drive quickly, from all the success we've had previously but it is always nice to see it beating World Rally Cars which are at least three years younger."

Stunning competition debut for MML Sports R4 Lancer rally car

Posted: May 26, 2011 11:37 AM

The weekend of May 14-15t saw what MML Sports has described as a stunning competition debut for its R4 specification Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX. Former Finnish rally champion Jari Ketomaa was challenging for the overall win on Rally Talsi, the third round of the Latvian Rally Championship, before he hit a rock, causing an instant puncture and demoting him from second to ninth overall.

Following a two-day test prior to the start of the event, both MML Sports and Ketomaa were optimistic ahead of the event. And the rally world didn't have to wait long to see how competitive the car was; Ketomaa took the outright stage win on the first timed test of the event, ahead of the World Rally Cars of Georg Gross, in a 2008 Ford Focus WRC and Skandi Motors team-mate Raimonds Kisiels, in a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC.

From that moment on, the performance of the MML Sports R4 Lancer was clear; by the end of the first four stages and the first leg, Ketomaa lead the event outright.

On Sunday morning, he carried on where he left off, never out of the top three when to came to stage times and claiming another pair of scratch wins, on the sixth and eighth stages of the event. In fact, by the time he approached the last stage of the event, he was in second place, less than seven seconds off Gross' lead, the pair having swapped positions for first and second no less than five times so far.

However, fate was to intervene and prevent a dream performance translating into a dream result. In the last stage, Ketomaa struck a rock which had been pulled out into the centre of the road and this caused an instant puncture. He and co-driver Mika Stenberg elected to drive out of the stage but at reduced speed, losing almost three and a half minutes in the process and dropping to ninth overall.

Commenting at the finish, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton, said; "It seems like luck wasn't on our side today. Jari was definitely on for second place, potentially the win but the rock in the road put pay to that. Coincidentally, the usual Group N winner also hit the same rock and suffered the same fate, so at least Jari was in good company!

"Even though we didn't get the result we felt we should have, I am extremely encouraged by the pace the car has shown. To be here after just a short pre-event test and be fighting with a pair of world rally cars on our R4 Lancer EvoX debut is very gratifying. We were treating this event as effectively a test - we have carried out very little development running post-homologation - so to claim three scratch times is fantastic.

"We hoped the R4 car would have potential but this weekend, it's been a lot quicker than we had anticipated and we still have a lot of options to test, so I am confident that we could get even more speed from it. The R4 specification is already between 0.5sec and 0.75 secs per Kilometre faster than our Group N version, over the same stages.

"I think our next event could either be here in Latvia or possibly, south Estonia, again with Jari. Ott Tanak will be doing Estonia in the Fiesta S2000, so hopefully we could get a better idea of the car's pace, against a top driver in a top car.

"I guess everyone is disappointed that we didn't get a podium result this weekend but the pace and reliability of the car have been superb. On balance, I'd say this is an excellent debut."

MML Sports heads for Latvia and R4 debut

Posted: May 8, 2011 10:57 AM

MML Sports will be heading for Latvia next week, as the company debuts its Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX in R4 specification on the Talsi Rally, the third round of the national championship. The car will be driven by Jari Ketomaa and the company hopes the experienced Finn will be able to demonstrate the advantages offered by this latest specification from MML Sports.

The company has a history of debuting its latest developments in the Baltic nation; two years ago, it unveiled its version of the Group N EvoX and last year, re-affirmed its speed with British drivers Mark Higgins and Tom Cave both demonstrating excellent pace.

There is currently just a single Super2000 car on the entry list for Talsi Rally, the Skoda Fabia S2000 of Swede Per-Arne Saav, for MML Sports to compare the pace of the R4 Lancer against. The new regulations have been developed to improve the competitiveness of Group N/R4 cars against the lighter S2000 and the company is keen to assess the benefits of its R4 car, which is now significantly lighter than its Group N stablemate.

However, while there is only one S2000, the field is predominantly made up of Group N cars, including several regulars from the FIA Production car World Rally Championship, which should allow the company to gauge the R4's pace compared with the heavier cars.

The experience of Ketomaa will be doubly beneficial, as the Finn will have come almost directly from Sardinia, where he will have taken part in Rally d'Italia in a Group N Lancer, so will be able to give the team almost instant feedback on the differences and benefits of the R4 car.

MML Sports will also be able to draw on the experience of R4 development partners Ralliart Italy, which will also be appearing in Italy, with another Finn, Matti Rantanen at the wheel and Juha Salo in a Group N car, making immediate comparisons possible.

This means that by the time the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX R4 reaches the start ramp in Talsi, it will have the best chance to show what the car is capable of.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said: "I am very excited about seeing the fruits of our labours developing the R4 specification of EvolutionX on behalf of Mitsubishi Motors realised. We and our suppliers have worked very hard to ensure that we can not only service the demand externally but also, debut our own car on this event, where we unveiled our GpN EvoX two years ago.

"We know on paper what the R4 EvoX should be capable of; we have taken roughly 60Kg out of the finished weight of a Group N car and theoretically, feel that should give an advantage of around 0.5s/Km over a Group N car.

"However, the rationale for R4 is to bring the Lancer closer to the S2000 cars and with only a single Skoda S2000 on the event, I'm not sure we will get a realistic picture of the improvements. But there are plenty of Group N cars, with very quick drivers in them, so we should be able to make an assessment of the benefits that way."

In addition to Ketomaa in the R4 Lancer, the company will also run Raimonds Kisiels in the Lancer WRC and the three Russian drivers in Group N Lancers; Aleksander Novoselov, Mikhail Orkin and Vladimir Sokolov.

The event begins with four stages on the afternoon of Saturday 14 May, including two runs of the BTA superspecial stage in the centre of Talsi town. Sunday 15 May sees a further six stages, culminating with the 34Km TurtleWax stage. The first crew is expected to reach the finish ramp at 16.45 local time.

MML Sports prepares for its first R4 events

Posted: April 20, 2011 10:55 AM

The company that jointly developed and is now producing the official Mitsubishi R4 components, MML Sports Ltd, is now in the process of building its first two cars to the latest FIA specification. The first will be used by former Hungarian Rally Champion Csaba Spitzmuller on the Miskolc Rally while FIA World Rally Championship regular Jari Ketomaa will give the Lancer EvolutionX its first run in Latvia, on the Talsi Rally.

Spitzmuller was a regular in the MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer WRC World Rally Car, winning the national championship in 2008. Now however, he is back in action in the Hungarian series and is having his MML Sports-built GpN EvoX converted to R4 specification, ready for the next round of the series, the Miskolc Rally over the weekend of 30 April/1 May.

The company will also be following its traditional route of demonstrating its own R4 EvoX on this year's Talsi Rally, over the weekend of 14/15 May. As it did two years ago with the debut of the GpN EvoX, the company will return to Latvia in full force, this time with Finn Jari Ketomaa at the wheel.

Ketomaa is the four-time Finnish Rally Champion and this year, is competing in the FIA World Rally Championship in a Super 2000 car. This makes him a perfect choice to not only demonstrate MML Sports' R4 EvoX's capabilities, but also provide valuable feedback when comparing the R4 with S2000 - the basis for the new specification of car.

Initial tarmac testing on MML Sports' R4 EvoX will begin in earnest very soon, with gravel development work following on immediately. This will be undertaken by both Spitzi and Ketomaa, as well as UK-based drivers to ensure that the car is as competitive as possible when it makes its competition debut.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said;
"I'm delighted that we already have two cars in build and interest from various other customers to convert their cars to R4. It will also be very beneficial to us to have a driver like Jari in the car, as his experience and feedback will help us to push the EvoX R4's development even further.

"Even though he hasn't competed in Latvia for a while, we know that the stages are very similar to those in his native Finland, in terms of the overall characteristics and I'm confident that he will be able to demonstrate just how competitive the R4 EvoX is. His experience in Super2000 will also be invaluable to us, as this is the whole reason that R4 was introduced in the first place."

Official Mitsubishi R4 kit homologated and into production

Posted: April 20, 2011 10:54 AM

MML Sports Ltd has confirmed that the official Mitsubishi kit of components to convert Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX rally cars into the new international specification, R4, has now been homologated by the FIA. Following confirmation of its successful homologation, MML Sports, charged by Mitsubishi Motor Company and working in partnership with Ralliart Italy, will begin large scale production of the components to satisfy demand for the new breed of rally cars.

MML Sports has been working with Ralliart Italy for some time to develop and finalise the specification of the Mitsubishi R4 kit of components and is delighted that the FIA has accepted the components and agreed homologation.

Fundamentally, the R4 specification allows a range of lightweight parts to replace what are standard or road-going components on the Group N car. For example, a heated windscreen can be used, eliminating the need for a heater/blower to keep the front screen free from misting in damp conditions.

The rear windscreen and door windows can be replaced with Perspex while several of the car's original suspension components can also be replaced with fabricated items, reducing weight and allowing for better suspension geometry.

MML Sports is anticipating that, comparing like for like, an R4 version of the Lancer EvolutionX will weigh in the region of 60Kg less than a Group N version. The company also estimates that, based on previous experience and testing, this will equate to a performance advantage in the region of 0.5 seconds per kilometre, depending on the stage conditions and the surface.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director, John Easton, said;
"I am delighted that the R4 components have been successfully homologated. This means that we can now begin large-scale production of the components and I anticipate full kits will be ready for shipping by mid/late April.

"We already have several customers who have pre-ordered kits and they are keen to reap the benefits that we expect from converting to R4 specification.

"With these schedules and the relatively fast conversion from GpN to R4, which we would expect to take no more than a couple of days, potentially teams could have R4 EvoXs ready for the third round of the FIA SWRC, Rally d'Italia or the third round of the IRC, in France."

MML Sports is also in the process of building its own R4 Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX which will debut soon, at the hands of a well-known driver, to demonstrate the car's potential. The company will also hold a formal launch of the R4 kit in the coming weeks.

More information, as well as pricing and order details, can be found at

www.mml-sports.com

Perfect season start for Freitas in MML Sports EvoX

Posted: March 26, 2011 9:52 AM

Maderian driver Felipe Freitas made a perfect start to his 2011 rally season recently, by winning his first event outright and finishing second and first GpN car on the opening round of the 2011 championship, in his MML Sports-prepared Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX.

Having finished last season with a string of excellent performances, Freitas was clearly keen to get 2011 underway in the best fashion.

He set the fastest time on the first three stages of the Rampa do Monte rallysprint, based close to the island's capital of Funchal over the weekend of 25/26 February. However, on the fourth stage, he clipped a bank and the resulting spin caused damage to his EvolutionX's bodywork and cost him more than two minutes in lost time.

But the scoring system for the rallysprint meat that each drivers' two best times out of the six stages counted and with more wins than anyone else - four in total - his combined time was enough to claim the event win and with it, his first trophy of the season.

Two weeks later, he took part in the first round of the 2011 Madeira Rally Championship, Rali Porto Santo. Once again, he was up against Vitor Sa in the Peugeot 207 S2000 and no less than five other EvolutionXs, from Spain, Germany and Italy.

And again, Freitas kept his cool and arrived at the finish of the event in second place overall behind Sa and as the leading GroupN car, with a margin of more than half a minute over his team-mate, Antonio Nunes.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said;
"I'm delighted that Felipe has picked up where he left off at the end of last year. An outright win and another class win is a perfect way to start the season.

"Felipe is also very interested in the R4 developments we are making and hopefully, he will upgrade once the homologation is finalised on 1 April and will be able to close the gap to the S2000 cars even further."

New year and new projects for MML Sports

Posted: January 27, 2011 12:26 PM

While for many the early part of the year is a quiet one, the opposite has turned out to be the case for MML Sports Ltd, the Rugby, UK-based motorsport and high performance specialists. Approaching the end of January, the company has recently completed a number of projects and is in the process of several new ones, while approaching the start of its traditional multi-regional rally programme.

Following its exceptional debut in December, when Sean Gill took it to second place overall on Rally Jamaica, the company is putting the finishing touches to the Suzuki SX4 'World Rally Car' that it built for Simpson Motors, the Suzuki distributor for the Caribbean. Using suspension, transmission and electronics systems MML Sports refined over several years in the FIA World Rally Championship, the car uses an engine developed by its engine partner, HKS in conjunction with Simpson Motors and MML Sports.

The company has been constantly developing its version of the Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX rally car and has recently been tasked by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation to partner with Ralliart Italy to develop, homologate and produce the kit of parts to convert GpN EvoXs to R4 specification.

This latest specification introduced by the FIA is aimed at equalising the performance of Group N and Super2000 and the first step focuses on weight reduction. A heated windscreen allows the heater to be removed and lightweight panels, Perspex windows and fabricated suspension components mean that the GpN EvoX will weigh some 45Kg less in R4 specification. And if the lightweight battery, turbo housing and underfloor protection developed by MML Sports are also used, this sheds a further 15Kg from the car giving a total weight saving of over 60Kg.

The company's facilities and ability to respond quickly to customer demands were exploited by one of the most iconic names in motorsport recently, when Cosworth approached MML Sports to carry out the actual conversion work on its special edition of the road-going Subaru Impreza, the 400. The task involved MML Sports removing the engine from all 75 production cars and shipping it to Cosworth for the internal work, before refitting the engine, as well as replacing the suspension, brakes and fuel system and then setting each car up on its computerised four-wheel alignment system.

Just as the Cosworth job was beginning, the company started development of its own high performance version of the road-going Lancer EvoX, dubbed the 'MML400', denoting 400bhp. Initial examples used the traditional, manual transmission but MML Sports is in the process of developing the SST or dual-clutch paddle-shift transmission to cope with the increased power and torque generated by its conversion, as well as increase shift speed. This will be the first time the SST gearbox will have been able to handle increased performance and MML Sports is understandably excited by the prospect.

But it's not all ultra-high technology; the company has also been engaged to build a historic specification Mk1 Ford Escort rally car. The bodyshell work and roll cage installation have already been carried out and the car will feature a Willcox engine, ZF transmission and a full-floating rear axle, as well as every other genuine period accessory to recreate one of the most evocative rally cars of all time.

And of course, all this is taking place as the company gears up for the start of its 2011 rally campaign, using its fleet of Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 World Rally Cars and Group N EvoXs. By the end of February, it will have contested rallies in Lithuania, Latvia and the Netherlands, as well as carried out two tests and a rally in Barbados for the Suzuki SX4 and a further test in the snow and ice of Latvia.

Commenting, MML Sports Managing Director John Easton said; "I don't think we've ever had such a busy start to the year, even when we were running the Mitsubishi works rally team. We worked literally up to Christmas and hit the ground running as soon as we got back in the New Year.

"I'm certainly not complaining though. It's incredibly exciting to be involved in so many projects, spanning almost every area that we operate in. For example, I'm delighted that Mitsubishi has asked us to partner with Ralliart Italy to develop, homologate and then, produce and distribute the components for the first phase of the R4 programme. We have already managed to shave 60Kg off the finished weight of the GpN EvoX and we're very pleased with that.

"The work on the Cosworth Imprezas went very well. We worked with Cosworth to try to streamline the production and procurement elements of the program and converted all the cars within the time frame and to their satisfaction. This spurred us on to speed up the development of the MML400 and working with our transmission partners, I'm looking forward to debuting the first 400bhp SST-equipped EvoX.

"On the sporting side, the Suzuki SX4 turned out very well and we are currently putting the finishing touches on the car prior to returning it to the Caribbean for the start of the season. We have two UK tests scheduled and I'm sure by the time it gets to its first event, it will be a winning car. Our other programmes are also about to start, with the Winter rally in Lithuania, where Ivars will drive the GpN EvoX for the first time in competition. Then Sarma Rally in Latvia and Haspengouw in Holland, before the end of February.

"I thought last year was busy but I may have underestimated it..."

Second overall for MML Sports' return to British stages