Mitsubishi driver Luc Alphand, who, with co-driver Gilles Picard, finished second, was reflective on his near-win: "As it's the first year... I just missed out on some details for victory. But I still want to learn. The dream is still there."
  "[Our] involvement in motor sport is not merely a promotional activity, but is really at the heart of the Mitsubishi Motors brand," said Akira Kijima, Managing Director and Head of Product Operations for Mitsubishi Motors.
  "We strive to take our cars to the limits of performance by competing and feed the technology and know-how acquired directly back into all of our production cars...
  "...We intend to strengthen motor sport activities and, in so doing, raise the value of the Mitsubishi Motors brand."
  Mitsubishi entered four Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolutions and a Mitsubishi L200 pickup support vehicle for the 16-day event, which began in Barcelona, Spain, on New Year's Day. The Mitsubishi crews claimed victory in five of the stages. In all, 104 bikes, 75 cars and 36 trucks finished the rally.