The Asia Cross Country Rally is one of the toughest events of its kind in the region. So tough, in fact, that merely reaching the finish line is already a massive achievement in itself. But Mitsubishi had faith that its newest Triton could take on the challenge, and its efforts were rewarded handsomely with a third-place finish in the competition—although, admittedly, this fell short of the team’s overall victory last year.

The first Triton that completed the event was manned by Chayapon Yotha and Peerapong Sombutwong. The winners of last year’s AXCR, the duo concentrated on performing consistently and taking advantage of the new truck’s core strengths. Competing for the first time in a cross-country rally, Katsuhiko Taguchi and Takahiro Yasui crossed the line in a respectable eighth. Hampered by mechanical issues at the first leg, Rifat Sungkar and Chupong Chaiwan managed to get 32nd place.

While Mitsubishi wasn’t able to defend its title, it can take comfort in the fact that all three vehicles entered by its works team finished the 2,000km rally from Thailand to Laos. For this achievement, it received the event’s Team Award. And with the rally trucks closely resembling production ones, the AXCR is a good demonstration of the latest Triton’s durability.