| The continuously changing Paris-Dakar Rally didn't make its start
from Paris, France as it has for the past 17 years ago, but this time made its
start from Granada, Spain. The championship event was fiercely fought between
Mitsubishi and Citroen in 1995. No true victor
emerged in the 1994 event when the Mitsubishis reluctantly withdrew its
challenge. It was also the year that Mitsubishi entered with a highly improved
version of its Pajero. The atmosphere was highly charged even before the event
got started. The Pajero's tread and wheel-base were enlarged making the overall
width of the machine 2 metres and its length reaching 4.3 metres. In addition,
the engine was bored up from 2.2 litres to 2.4, which put out 350 hp at 5500
rpm. With such improvements speeds of up to 220 km/h was achieved. Veteran
drivers Jean-Pierre Fontenay, Kenjiro Shinozuka and Bruno Saby stepped into
their new Pajeros for their fourth conquest of the Paris-Dakar. Furthermore, the
tread and wheel-base of Saby's machine was further increased to challenge the
treacherous terrain. Of the entire 14 SS locales, the battle between the big
manufacturers was a close match with Mitsubishi taking six top times and Citroen
taking eight. Subsequently, all three Pajeros finished, taking second, third and
fourth positions. In the Modified Production Vehicles category, the Pajeros
finished ninth and 10th overall. (Class first and second) The Pajeros showed
tremendous reliability with five machines finishing out of the top 10. |