If you’ve been following off-road racing or rally racing, you know the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) isn’t for the faint of heart. We’re talking nearly 1,500 miles of jungles, river crossings, mud holes deep enough to swallow a truck, and high-speed plantation roads that’ll rattle your fillings loose. It’s a true torture test for both driver and machine. And in 2025, it was the Mitsubishi Ralliart Triton diesel pickup (T1 spec, cross-country modified class) that came out on top, snagging first place at the 2025 AXCR held in Thailand from August 8–16, 2025.

At its core, the Triton is Mitsubishi’s global midsize pickup—rugged, straightforward, and designed to compete against workhorses like the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, and Isuzu D-Max. In stock form, you’ll usually find it running a 2.4-liter MIVEC turbodiesel making just under 200 horsepower and over 300 pound-feet of torque, paired with either a six-speed manual or auto and Mitsubishi’s Super Select 4WD-II system. Solid (but not exotic), its independent suspension up front, leaf springs out back, and adequate towing and hauling capacity keep it useful in the real world.

The three Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Tritons that took on AXCR weren’t just showroom models with mud tires. For this event, Mitsubishi Ralliart built the Tritons up to FIA’s T1 specification. The frames were still production-based but were beefed up with full roll cages and reinforced welds. The suspension went from everyday pickup spec to serious long-travel rally hardware—think double wishbones and coilovers up front, trailing arms in the rear, and a foot or more of travel to soak up everything the Thai jungle could throw in the way. Tires sat on rally-grade beadlock wheels, and the trucks were stripped and lightened with fiberglass panels that could take a beating.

Under the hood, the rally Tritons stuck with diesel power, tuned more for endurance than outright horsepower. Cooling was a big deal in the AXCR, so the Mitsubishi Ralliart Tritons ran oversized radiators and intercoolers to keep temps under control in the brutal heat. Instead of chasing max numbers, Mitsubishi focused on delivering the kind of torque you need to crawl out of ruts and blast through deep muck without grenading the engine halfway through the week. Drivers usually have sequential rally gearboxes for lightning-fast shifts, but one of the team trucks even ran a production-spec automatic just to prove how tough it was. It survived.

Rather than raw power, balance really set the Mitsubishi Ralliart Tritons apart this year. While rivals like the Toyota Hilux Revo and Ford Raptor showed up with bigger-displacement engines, Mitsubishi’s strategy was to play to the Triton’s strengths. We’re talking lighter weight, dialed suspension geometry, and trucks that could keep their cool on high-speed stretches while still being nimble in the mud. That gamble paid off.

Chayapon Yotha drove the #112 Triton like a man possessed, clawing his way up from 12th on the starting grid to take the overall win with a time of 16 hours, 15 minutes, and 12 seconds. Even after getting bogged down in Leg 5’s deep mud, he kept the pace and held off the competition by just seven minutes. Meanwhile, Katsuhiko Taguchi stormed to a fifth-place finish after recovering from suspension damage, and Kazuto Koide battled through early setbacks to place 22nd, proving the Triton’s ability to keep going even under the harshest conditions.

Listening to the team talk, you get the sense this wasn’t just about one win—it’s about showcasing what Mitsubishi calls its “Motors-ness”—that mix of grit, durability, and agility that’s baked into the Triton. Team Director Hiroshi Masuoka made it clear that they weren’t trying to out-muscle the competition, but were instead proving that smart engineering and a balanced platform could take on bigger engines and win. And judging by the results, they’re right.

For off-road fans, the takeaway is pretty clear. The Triton might not be a horsepower monster, but it’s the kind of truck that reminds you endurance racing isn’t won with spec-sheet bragging rights. It’s won with suspension that can take endless abuse, drivetrains that won’t quit, handling that keeps a driver in control when the trail turns ugly, and smart driving. In other words, endurance racing victories come to those piloting trucks like the Mitsubishi Triton.