Motorsports
Mitsubishi Gears Up for AXCR 2025 with Three Rally Beasts
Mitsubishi Ralliart to Field Three Tritons in AXCR 2025 Thailand Rally
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has confirmed its return to the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) with three heavily modified Triton pickup trucks, aiming to reclaim the championship title in the 30th edition of the event set for August 8 to 16, 2025, in Thailand.
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart, backed technically by Mitsubishi Motors and operated by Tant Sport (Thailand), is pushing for its first overall win since 2022. The team is led by Hiroshi Masuoka, with support from Mitsubishi engineers who are enhancing the Triton’s durability, torque, and off-road performance for the tougher rally route this year, which now stretches to approximately 2,500 km over eight days.
Drivers Chayapon Yotha and Katsuhiko Taguchi will lead the title charge, while Mitsubishi test driver Kazuto Koide returns with an auto transmission-equipped Triton to validate future tech and support teammates. All three entries have undergone high-load testing in June near Khao Yai National Park, fine-tuning components such as suspension, engine cooling, and body integrity for extreme terrain.
Masuoka noted the new Triton has proven capable in all terrains, saying, “We’ve improved everything from engine torque to the chassis setup. We’re ready to win.”
The driver line-up includes:
- Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) with co-driver Peerapong Sombutwong – 2022 AXCR champion.
- Katsuhiko Taguchi (Japan) with Takahiro Yasui – Fifth place in 2024.
- Kazuto Koide (Japan) with Eiji Chiba – Mitsubishi test driver, made his AXCR debut last year.
The rally-ready Tritons feature 2.4L turbo diesel engines producing over 160kW and 500Nm, reinforced suspension by CUSCO, sequential and automatic transmissions, and carbon fiber body parts. Tires are Yokohama’s GEOLANDAR M/T G003, suited for deep mud and rocky terrain.
Key technical partners include HKS, CUSCO, ENDLESS, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
AXCR 2025 will run entirely within Thailand after organizers cancelled the Cambodia leg. The race starts and ends in Pattaya, crossing mountains, jungles, and rivers, testing both machine and man.
Toyota Motor Philippines is bringing the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup back to the track on 11 July 2026 at Clark International Speedway, with the next leg set to test alternative fuels under race conditions.
The series was paused after its opening round in March at Riverpark in General Trias, Cavite, following the Automobile Association of the Philippines’ decision to suspend sanctioned motorsports events due to the fuel crisis. With AAP allowing selected racing activities to resume, Toyota’s one-make series is returning with a new fuel direction.
The Clark round will serve as a “rolling laboratory” for Toyota, using ethanol-blended fuels for the Vios One-Make Race cars and biodiesel for the Tamaraw One-Make Race vehicles. Toyota said the program supports Gazoo Racing’s role as a testing ground for building better cars while exploring more sustainable racing solutions.
The March opener marked the competitive debut of the Tamaraw OMR on the 2.4-kilometer Riverpark street course. Toyota Motor Philippines president Masando Hashimoto also joined the action behind the wheel of a Tamaraw, while Iñigo Anton and Will Lucas took wins in their respective classes.
The Vios OMR also ran during the first leg, with Sporting, Super Sporting and Legacy race classes on the grid. Both the Tamaraw and Vios OMRs are expected to return at Clark for the July race weekend.
Other local motorsports events have also resumed, including the Makabayan Endurance Race Series and Super Sprint, where alternative fuels are being encouraged among competitors.
For Toyota, the Clark leg gives the TGR Philippine Cup a role beyond competition. It puts biofuel use under the pressure of actual racing, where heat, speed, consistency and reliability can be measured in real time.
Max Verstappen arrives at Red Bull’s home Austrian Grand Prix looking for a season reset, with the team bringing a major upgrade package to the Red Bull Ring this weekend.
The four-time world champion has not won since last year’s Abu Dhabi season finale. A strong result in Spielberg would help revive his title bid and give Red Bull a clearer read on whether its latest updates can address the performance issues that have slowed the team this season.
Verstappen has a strong record at the venue. He won the Austrian Grand Prix in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, and also took the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix at the same circuit during the pandemic. No other driver has more than one Austrian Grand Prix victory.
“Austria is a home race for the team and it’s been great for me in the past,” Verstappen said. “We have good memories there. It’s an interesting challenge. All the corners are quite different so balance is really important.”
He said the Red Bull Ring demands a car that works across different conditions, from high-speed sections to slower corners. Verstappen also pointed to traction, energy management and power deployment as key factors.
“We have a new package this weekend so I’m hoping we can be closer to where we want to be,” he said.
The short and fast circuit in the Styrian Alps is expected to produce close racing. It could also extend a run of changing fortunes in the championship after Lewis Hamilton ended Mercedes’ six-race winning streak with his first Ferrari victory in Spain.
Hamilton’s win in Catalunya was the 106th of his Formula One career and strengthened his bid for an eighth drivers’ title. He sits 41 points behind Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli, who remains on top of the standings despite recording his first retirement of the season in Spain.
Mercedes will also bring upgrades to Austria, where George Russell won in 2024. Ferrari is set to introduce an engine update as it targets a historic 250th Formula One victory.
McLaren is also expected to contend. Defending Austrian Grand Prix winner Lando Norris won from pole last year, while the team will test an experimental rear wing during Friday practice.
Hamilton says renewed belief powered his first Ferrari win
Lewis Hamilton said a rebuilt mindset helped carry him to his first Grand Prix victory with Ferrari, ending a winless run of nearly two years at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 41-year-old British driver was visibly emotional after crossing the line at Montmeló, where he delivered his first win for the Scuderia since joining the Italian team last season.
Hamilton, a record seven-time world champion tied with Michael Schumacher, said the result came after months of doubt, criticism and personal work to regain the belief that made him one of Formula One’s most successful drivers.
He said the key was learning not to second-guess himself.
“The thing I know is to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself, you’ve got to continue to believe in yourself at the core,” Hamilton told reporters.
He said he had worked to restore that mentality after a difficult first year with Ferrari.
“Those are the things that I’ve managed to re-implement into my mentality. And I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was,” he said.
The win lifted Hamilton back into the title picture, although he remains 41 points behind Mercedes’ teenage championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Hamilton said he never lost faith in his decision to move to Ferrari, even as pressure grew around him last season.
“I truly believed in my decision in joining Ferrari, I truly believe what this team could achieve, what we could achieve together,” he said.
He admitted the early excitement around his move was soon followed by doubt and negativity, but credited his family, friends and supporters for helping him through that period.
“I really feel like my fans really rescued me last year. My family, also friends, stuck with me through it all,” he said.
Hamilton said he had to shut out outside noise and focus on people who knew him best.
He described the process as unplugging from the “Matrix” and spending more time with family, friends and “real people” who had never doubted him.
The turnaround, he said, began during the holidays.
“I just went on the mission from Christmas Day, the training that I put in, was harder than I’ve ever experienced,” Hamilton said.
The Barcelona win also carried history. Schumacher claimed his first Ferrari victory at the same circuit in 1996.
Hamilton said he remembered watching that race as a child, sitting at home with a plate on his lap and wondering what it would be like to sit in the red car.
Nearly three decades later, he stood on the top step of the podium in Ferrari colors.
“It was really amazing to witness and to see,” Hamilton said. “I nearly passed out… my heart was exploding with joy.”
