Irish Motor Sports News – Cristina Gutierrez enters Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross in 2019 Dakar

Cristina Gutierrez enters Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross in 2019 Dakar

Dec 10, 2018

Whilst Mitsubishi Motors’ works teams are no longer involved in motor ports, the glory and reputation brought by 12 Dakar victories and 5 WRC titles (amongst others) still ring strong within the Japanese brand.

Spanish sporting spirit

In this respect, local Mitsubishi Motors Distributors have always played an important role, from the seminal decision taken in the early 80’s by SONAUTO in France to enter the Dakar Rally with the then all-new Pajero, to today’s support given by Mitsubishi Motors Spain to local hero pilot Cristina Gutierrez with her Eclipse Cross silhouette racer (T1 proto) at the 2019 Dakar, Jan. 6^th to 17^th, 2019.

Together with her Spanish co-driver Pablo Huete, the 26 year old Spanish driver – who is ambassador for the safety program Vial Fun of Santander Consumer Finance – will tackle an edition that promises to be at least as tough as the previous ones with 5,000 km against the clock, distributed in ten stages, of which 70% in sand.

For her third participation (after 2017 and then 2018 when she reached the finish line the highest placed female driver) and thorough preparation, she is ready for the challenge: “As always when you face a Dakar, you do it with great expectation but also a lot of respect for the test. The first objective, of course, is to finish what is the toughest rally in the world, for the third time in a row.”

She adds: “However, the new car and the new team will allow us to really compete and measure ourselves against our rivals in the tough stages of the Dakar. What I have very clear is that after two years of experience in the Dakar, this year I will enjoy the test a lot”.

Mega-Eclipse Cross

Setting herself the objective to finish amongst the top 20 drivers, Cristina Gutiérrez will enter the 41^st Dakar Rally with a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross T1 silhouette racer.

About the car she says: “For me, it is a big step ahead compared to the previous years. You can go very fast with it, while it is easier to drive and has greater Off Road capabilities. Taking its design cues from the great looking series production Eclipse Cross, the racer is really awesome: It’s the most spectacular car I’ve ever driven and attracts a lot of attention!”

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

STEEL MULTI-TUBULAR FRAME, CARBON FIBER BODY

INDEPENDENT, DOUBLE WISHBONES, COIL SPRING (FR & RR)

2 SHOCKS PER WHEEL, FULLY ADJUSTABLE DAMPING AND ANTI-ROLL BAR SYSTEM

LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL (FR & RR)

FULL TIME 4WD, MECHANICAL CENTER DIFF

6 SPEED GEARBOX, SEQUENTIAL SHIFT GEARBOX AND MECHANICAL GEAR SELECTION

ELECTRIC POWER STEERING

FRONT AND REAR: VENTILATED DISCS 280MM WITH 4 PISTON CALIPER.

ENGINE: 340 HP / 70 kg/m A 3.500 RPM

FUEL TANK: 350 LITERS

WEIGHT: 1,850 kg

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