Summary (1989 - Paris - Tunis - Dakar)

In its constant search for a new challenge, the Dakar changed its format with a route that took the 472-strong starting field through Libya for the first time. The thought that the population might not give them a warm welcome was quickly dispelled by their generous hospitality, which is more than could be said of the treacherous and instructive Libyan desert. Once again a wide field of Pajeros took part, from the prototypes, one of which was piloted by Formula 1 driver Patrick Tambay, to an astonishing replica of a PX-33. The Sonauto Mitsubishi team was the biggest manufacturer team there had ever been up to that point. It brought seven cars to the start: 6 Pajeros and one PX-33 replica. Lartigue, Cowan and Da Silva drove the cars sponsored by Nikon, while Tambay, Shinozuka and Fontenay took their places in the Citizen cars. The PX-33, a replica of the first four-wheel-drive car in Japan, was driven by Jaussaud. The 11,000 km of the rally were this time tackled at Christmas to avoid a clash with the Monte Carlo Rally. The race became a drama that soon became motorsport legend, as the Mitsubishis first suffered from the poor quality  of the fuel. By the halfway stage at Agadez, Tambay had fought his way up to third place overall, while Lartigue's highly tuned engine had had enough of the poor-quality fuel and gave up the ghost. Tambay held on to his third place overall all the way to the finish, while Shinozuka, with his sprint through the ranks from 19th place up to sixth, became the hero of the rally. In the class for near-production cars, Mitsubishi introduced the new V6 engine for the first time, with which no fewer than 5 drivers promptly finished in the top ten. And the PX-33? It survived the rally and finished 31st in the overall classification.

Final Standings

Position	Start Number	Driver	Manufacturer / Car	Overall Time
1.	204	Vatanen	Peugeot	26.04.47
2.	206	Ickx	Peugeot	+ 00.01.44
3.	211	Tambay	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 03.53.10
4.	205	Frequelin	Peugeot	+ 05.41.28
5.	228	Tjisterman	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 06.30.11
6.	212	Shinozuka	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 07.01.31
7.	213	Fontenay	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 08.25.42
8.	207	Wambergue	Peugeot	+ 09.01.44
9.	235	Seppi	Mercedes	+ 11.00.16
10.	210	Da Silva	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 13.02.32