Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, a dominant competitor in the Dakar Rally off-road motor race and one of the event’s major sponsors, on Wednesday said it would pull out of rally racing indefinitely in an effort to cut costs.

The decision, which follows Honda’s withdrawal from the Formula One racing circuit in December, deals a heavy blow to the 30-year-old Dakar race, which was already struggling with security problems along its usual Europe-to-Africa route.