TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has completed all its preparations for the new WRC hybrid era, which will start with the legendary Monte Carlo Rally on January 20-21.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's new vehicle to compete in the 2022 season will be the GR YARIS Rally1, which will carry the legacy of the Yaris WRC, which achieved great success by winning the Constructors and Drivers' Championship last year.
This time, the French Alps will be the scene of a new challenge for revolutionary Rally1 cars. The new Rally1 vehicles have serious differences compared to the previous vehicles that will bring hybrid technology to the top of the rally world for the first time. The hybrid units in the vehicles consist of a 3.0 kWh battery and an engine-generator unit (MGU), which provides an additional 100 kW (134 PS) in acceleration.
In GR YARIS Rally1, Yaris WRC's proven 1.6-liter turbo engine is combined with a hybrid system and provides the pilots with over 500 PS. In addition, vehicles will run on 100 percent sustainable fuel. Among the changes made to the car according to the rules are innovations such as less complex aerodynamics, mechanical gear reversing and the removal of the active center differential. Thus, while the driver's abilities will come to the fore more, the drivers will also try to manage the hybrid energy use in the best way.
Toyota has focused on the Monte Carlo Rally in the last few weeks, while completing its test program with the GR YARIS Rally1. Rally Monte Carlo will not only be the beginning of a new era, but will also host an exciting challenge with its usual challenging conditions, with varying conditions from dry ground to snow and ice.
Toyota's new GR YARIS Rally1 will feature defending champion Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta. In the rally, which will start with tests on Thursday morning, there are 2021 percent new stages compared to 85. Specially for the 90th anniversary of the rally, the service area has been moved from Monaco to the Gap and on Thursday evening the opening stage will start from the iconic Casino Square.
Friday will be the longest day of the rally and on Saturday the drivers will race in stages going further west. On Sunday, which will be the end of the rally, the two stages will be run twice. The last stage, Entrevaux, draws attention as the only stage that is the same as last year.
Be the first to comment