Tsangaris EVO IX Rally Car Spotlight
In 2011, the Andreas Tsangaris turned this Mitsubishi EVO IX into a competition rally car in his homeland of Cyprus. There, he competed in the International Rally events and went on to win countless rally stages and rallysprints.
Andreas was heavily involved in the Cyprian car racing scene in general. As one of the directors of the Car organization of Cyprus, he was not only competing but also involved in directing the Racing events! Since 2001, he has won the Cyprus Rally Group N4 Championship three times in total. These victories were achieved between his ex-car, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI, and his current 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.
For Rally competition in Cyprus, the EVO IX was modified to meet the N4 rules for FIA Rally. It is fully caged and features an Exedy clutch, Reiger Suspension and Sparco seats and belts. The engine remains stock due to the regulations placed by FIA for Group N, with only the conrod bolts changed for the safety of the engine. Using stronger bolts allows for full trust in the engine with high power output. The car also has a hydraulic handbrake installed, Jegs fuel tank, runs on Pirelli or Yokohama tyres and uses the Link EVO IX PlugIn ECU.
The Team says: “We chose to run the G4 Evo9 plug and play. This ECU best fitted our engine and allowed it to run smoothly. We never encountered any problems, it sustained the engine perfectly in all conditions, cold or hot. The ECU allowed the engine to be very responsive and efficient in the long, harsh stages.”
In fact, Andreas’ car was the first to use the EVO IX PlugIn ECU in Cyprus; a country which now sees a great deal of Link ECUs installed into cars.
“We fell in love with this brand and company, and we brought Link to Cyprus, and our mechanic sold them and tuned other rally cars in Cyprus.”
Despite the stock engine, no expense was spared in engineering the car to have perfect balance and agility through corners. 242 Km/h is the top speed the car has achieved on gravel surface, although it is specifically tuned for maximum torque and maximum acceleration to push the car quickly out of the tight corners.
When the family recently moved to Canada, it was a given that the Rally car would come with them!
The specifications of the car have been slightly altered to meet the requirements of the Open Class in Canada, where they installed a 34 mm restrictor (opposed to the 32 mm restrictor which complied with FIA rules for Group N). The car has now close to 300 HP even with the restrictor.
Over the next few years, Andreas aims to race in the Ontario Performance Rally Championship (which sees some joint rally’s with the Canadian Rally Championship), and some Rallycross Championships. In the Rallycross events, Andreas’ son George will drive, giving him the chance to explore the rally world.
Their aim is “for the team to be recognized in Canada in the same way, or even better, than we were in Cyprus”.
“Soon, we will invest in an aftermarket performance air filter for the engine and turbo, allowing us to have a much better air flow in the engine and a potential 10 horsepower increase. Also, we are looking to install the car with a new gearbox”.
