This week, Toyota has been carrying out tests ahead of the opening round of the World Rally Championship season at Rally Monte Carlo. During the tests, several interesting details have been spotted on the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.
The most visible update has been the testing of a new rear wing by Toyota’s drivers. However, an arguably even more intriguing detail was observed on the roof of the car.
Rally1 cars feature an air intake on the roof, topped by a cover that protrudes slightly above the roofline. In Monte Carlo testing, all Toyota drivers have also been collecting data by running the car without this cover.
“Toyota is testing again without the roof sccop cover, leaving the NACA air intake visible. A smart solution to reduce aerodynamic drag (higher top speed) and increase rear wing efficiency (greater rear grip) in cold events, where cockpit cooling is not required,” assessed the WRCWings.tech website, which specialises in rally car aerodynamics.
Elfyn Evans was the first of Toyota’s drivers to begin the team’s test programme on Tuesday. Based on video footage, the test car initially ran with the air-intake cover fitted, but Evans also tested the car without it.
On Wednesday, during Oliver Solberg’s test day, the cover was no longer in place. The same applied on Thursday when Sébastien Ogier took to the stages.
Solberg had already tested a similar solution back in December on the shakedown of Rallye National Hivernal du Dévoluy.
The WRC season gets under way in just under two weeks with Rally Monte Carlo.
