Dakar behind the Scenes: THE BRAKES

The results of any rally driver depend on the condition of the materials he works with, amongst many other things. The mechanics have to put in tremendous efforts to ensure success. During the Central Europe Rally, precautionary maintenance turned out to be even more important than in other rallies. Why was that the case?

The nature of this rally circuit has produced problems that none of the teams anticipated. Most of the tracks of the Central Europe Rally have been on former military training grounds. They weave like strings of spaghetti through sandy, rocky, or treeless terrain, and this calls for excessive amounts of braking. There are few long straights that provide some cooling time for the brakes, and for the trucks, with their relatively large mass, this problem is even greater. One trial for the trucks had to be cancelled to enable a complete revision of the brakes. It produced two fairly calm days for the Mitsubishi rally truck.

The braking disks of the Pajero Evolutions turned out to be in remarkably good condition after every test. Unlike many others, they didn’t have to be replaced each time. Mitsubishi didn’t even take extra precautions. When asked, the mechanics replied “Problems? What problems? No, we have no problems with the brakes!”

HILLS, THRILLS, AND SPILLS!!!

We had to wait quite a long time for the arrival of the first Mitsubishi driven by Nani Roma who finished in third place, behind an unbeatable Robby Gordon, and Carlos Sainz who took second. Nani got out smiling; he had performed well and climbed one place in the provisional rankings. “This isn’t an extremely difficult circuit, but it is very technical; masses of tight bends with quite a few sizeable humps and hollows”, he declared, “It’s incredibly demanding on your braking and steering ability. We did wonderfully well today, despite the fact that one dangerous point was not marked in the roadbook”. This error turned out to have major consequences for the standings.

Shortly afterwards Luc Alphand arrived at the finish. The car had been rinsed already; always the first thing that is done by the Mitsubishi team. Stéphane Peterhansel had also finished, but in a disappointing seventh place. His comments about the circuit matched Nani’s and he was equally unhappy with today’s roadbook. Peterhansel explained that dangerous points are indicated with one to three exclamation marks. One means ‘Watch it’ and three exclamation marks means you need to hit the brakes hard or otherwise you run into trouble. “If the roadbook doesn’t have those symbols at a dangerous point, chances are you’ll lose control”, he continued. “Today that happened to De Villiers at a point where you have three mounds one after the other. The first obscures your vision and launches immediately into the next two. De Villiers landed on his nose and turned over three times. He’d taken it too fast. I didn’t actually see it happen, but I did see the car. The guys were standing next to it - unharmed fortunately. We took off as well, but luckily landed well”.

Later on it transpired that most competitors had had the same experience. A lot of bikers and cars became airborne over those three hills, resulting in a lot of withdrawals, damage, and delays. The absence of a few exclamation marks can have major consequences – particularly in rally sport!!!

MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER AS SERVICE CAR

An Outlander with European specifications will serve as support vehicle for the four Pajero/Montero Evolutions, carrying spares and tools on the Central Europe Rally. It will be part of a total fleet of 13 service vehicles, which include five trucks, Pajero/Monteros, L200 pick-ups, and Outlanders.

This European Outlander is actually an SUV, aimed at urban motoring. It nonetheless profits from the same three-mode electronically controlled 4WD transmission system as the Pajero/Montero and the four-wheel drive L200, and has been specially prepared to take on the punishing conditions associated with rallies like the Dakar. It’s powered by a four-cylinder 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine, mated to a manual six-speed gearbox. It features the same livery as the competing cars and incorporates specific rally equipment such as a roll cage, bucket seats, competition suspension, competition tyres, and guards.

Neither the engine, the gearbox nor the electronically-controlled 4WD transmission system have been modified, although their calibration has been tuned to meet the needs of the demanding conditions it will face. Last but not least, a bigger fuel tank has been fitted to ensure the sort of range required for the long distances involved.

FRANCE; PONT DE VAUX

Any idea where the Dakar racing cars of the Mitsubishi factory team are built and prepared? Not in Okazaki, Japan, but in the picturesque French village of Pont de Vaux. About 100 kilometres north of Lyon a team of very dedicated technical boffins is working on the development of an ingenious rally vehicle: the unbeatable Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution.

Surprisingly the rulers of the desert are built in a former Renault garage instead of in the modern and sterile building you would expect. It is also striking that people there are not at all reluctant about photographs being taken. Is it possible that the secret of this rally team’s success is not purely technical ingenuity, but the mentality of its employees? Dominique Serieys, Sports Director of Mitsubishi Motor Sports (MMSP) affirms this. More or less apologetically he explains that the old garage has been expanded repeatedly over the years to supply the necessary space. “We have to do the job on a relatively small budget, so the secret of our success is definitely the mentality of our team and the wonderful drivers.”

Success does, however, create obligations to the future and with the present developments MMSP’s housing has reached its limits. There are therefore design plans for a new accommodation not far from the present base, which will become operational in January 2009. “Many of our regular employees live in this area, so it was obvious we would build our new factory in Pont de Vaux. While we are taking part in the Dakar 2009 the move to the new location will start”, Serieys explains. The sharp design shows clearly that the planned factory will be state-of-the-art. The charm of an old garage will finally be exchanged for a functional, ultra modern building.

In closed confinement

After A.S.O., the organiser of the rally, has performed a technical inspection of the racing vehicles for the 2008 Dakar Rally, the vehicles have to go directly to a confined parking zone. This zone is not only closed to the public but also closed to the teams. It's guarded 24 hours a day and no assistance or changes to the cars are allowed before the start of the race.

STRENGTH AND STAMINA

Q: How do you see Mitsubishi’s chances of taking its score to eight Dakar wins in a row?
Dominique Serieys, Team Director, Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports: Our success over the years puts pressure on us. Mitsubishi has a record that speaks for itself and is a unique accomplishment in any form of motor sport at this level, but I have mixed feelings about the 2008 event.

Q: This will be your fourth Dakar with exactly the same driver line-up. How much of an advantage is that?
DS: Stability is very important. It leads to a two-way sense of confidence and allows you to involve the drivers more closely as you build and develop. We form a bonded team and on top of that, our drivers are complementary and very experienced.

Q: What do you think the principal challenge of the 2008 Dakar will be?
DS: It has almost become a tradition for the organizers to mark the landmark events by making them particularly difficult. So, for the 30th anniversary Dakar, I think we can expect a very challenging route through Morocco and Mauritania.

Q: Who do you see as your main opposition this year?
DS: Volkswagen has a very strong line-up with Sainz and de Villiers, and the team combines performance with understanding of the Dakar. And I don't think we can forget the BMW operation which benefits from factory support, a strong engine and some experienced drivers. And there's no way anyone should overlook Schlesser.

LOGISTICS

Q: How many people will be in the Mitsubishi team on the 2008 Dakar?
David Serieys, Logistics Manager, Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports (DS): For the 2008 Dakar, our team will consist of 56 people, plus 14 additional staff who will provide additional help for the European stages and during the rest day in Nouakchott, Mauritania. The team is essentially made up of ten mechanics, five stores staff, four body panel specialists and three electricians, plus the five technicians, three logistics staff, one physiotherapist, the fourteen drivers and mechanics of the service vehicles, three team management personnel and the eight drivers and co-drivers.

Q: Mitsubishi has vast experience in Africa. Is that one of the team’s strengths?
DS: Yes it is. The 30th anniversary Dakar will be Mitsubishi Motors 26th entry on this celebrated event. Over the years, all the various departments that make up our team have accumulated great experience.

Q: How does the team travel during the Dakar?
DS: The entire team travels between stages in the service vehicles, with the exception of our Team Director Dominique Serieys who will follow the route in the ASO Team Managers' plane.

We will have five 6x6 trucks and six service vehicles, as well as two 6x6 T4 rapid service trucks that will follow the same route as the competitors.

Q: Are you a one-man logistics operation or do you have support?
DS: Thankfully, I benefit from the help of Philippe Tomas and Pascal Millet, who are in charge of the transportation of clothing, equipment and light catering.

Preparing all the camping equipment and the larger MMSP tents and equipment for the bivouac – including extra clothing and parts, etc. – is a big job. Before the start, Margaret Ledderhof, the Team Director’s assistant in Pont de Vaux assist me, not to mention the team's stores staff and secretaries.

THE DAKAR AS A LEARNING TOOL

Q: The Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13 is about to participate in the Dakar for the second year running. What are the strengths that helped it to win this event in 2007 and how has it been improved for the 2008 rally?
Thierry Viardot, Technical Director, Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports (TV): The MPR13 was competitive out of the box and, as we saw on last Dakar Rally, strength and reliability were built into its DNA from the outset.

The drivers have always found it to be a nicely balanced and it also boasts excellent traction and cooling performance.

The current Montero/Pajero Evolution is a well-sorted car but I believe there is little we can do to take its development much further. The most recent tests essentially focused on the suspension to make it even easier to drive.

Q: What effect have the new technical regulations announced in April had on the MPR13?
TV: The new regulations dictate the use of an even smaller air restrictor for the engine and the mandatory switch from a six to a five-speed gearbox, which is a difficult handicap to overcome for a petrol-engined car like the MPR13. Our mission was basically to select the ratios that would give us the best compromise between performance and reliability.

Q: How much testing has the team done for the 2008 Dakar and to what extent did the different events you contested in 2007 contribute to the car's development?
TV: We covered around 7,000km in Morocco, where we were able to run on all the different types of terrain we are likely to encounter on the Dakar. We also did test runs in France. We then returned to Morocco for tire tests with our partner BFGoodrich.

DURABILITY WAS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Last year’s win in the Dakar Rally can be attributed to our will to win and years of engineering talent, all of which is embodied in this year’s MPR13. How, despite increasing competition each year, has the Pajero managed to stay on top?

Yoshihiko Ototake (Motorsports Department R&D): “This year’s Dakar Rally was the story of the gasoline Pajero Evolution vs. the European diesels. Dakar rules are fairly strict for gasoline engines and turbo charging is not allowed, whereas the rules for the diesel engines Volkswagen runs are more lenient and turbo charging is allowed. We thought the MPR13’s engine response and suspension would make up the difference. Even if they got the better of us in the flat stages, we’d make it up in the dunes. But even into the dunes Volkswagen had both first and second place. In all honesty I thought we were done for.”

But in the marathon stages, when the mechanics have no access to the cars for several days, both leading Volkswagen cars were stopped by engine trouble and Mitsubishi took the lead.

“It isn’t so much that we were better prepared; it was our experience that helped us”, said Yoshihiko Ototake. “The essential points we worked on were: lowering the center of gravity and bringing heavy components like the engine and transmission closer to the center of the car. Both of these alterations pay off in terms of performance.”

Additionally, the clutch was moved to the back end of the transmission. Normally, it would take hours to replace it. Now it can be accessed easily and replaced - without removing the transmission - within about fifteen minutes.

All this experience also shows in the production models, so Mitsubishi customers can profit from it as well. A good example is the upgrade from a 3.5L engine to a 4.0L. Although it increases the weight of the car by about 75kg, which affects its speed, handling and breaking, the larger displacement gives you access to more of that horse power at low RPM’s so you can plow ahead unabated. Another example is the independent suspension in the current Pajero models. This was first introduced in the 1990 Dakar vehicle. However, not everything used in a rally car can also be brought to production. The rally is proving ground to help us learn. The Dakar Rally is more about durability than it is about speed, making the production-model Pajero an icon for endurance and toughness.

PETERHANSEL TALKS ABOUT THE DAKAR

We talked to Stéphane Peterhansel about what makes a good driver. Stéphane: "There is no easy answer to this question. First of all you need to have a passion to race rally-raids. Second, a reliable team that supports you. I'm nothing without my navigator, however easy the route may be. We are surrounded by professionals. Each driver has his own team of mechanics that completely rebuild the car after a day of racing. The backup from Mitsubishi is enormous, and even during the rally we develop new things to improve the car."