Toyota’s WRC team unveiled the livery of next year’s car earlier in December. Previously, the car’s primary colors were white and red, but now black takes center stage.
Lue myös: Wow! Toyota’s Rally1 car gets a stunning new livery
While the refreshed look has received much praise among fans, there have also been dissenting voices. Jonne Halttunen, co-driver for Kalle Rovanperä, raised a completely different point from the driver pair’s perspective.
“It’s obviously nice that something new is coming. But from the drivers’ perspective, one thing is that the black color always means a pretty hot car,” Halttunen tells RallyJournal.com.
“The cars are quite warm anyway, and that (black color) just adds to it. It’s still quite ‘fresh’ compared to what the car used to be.”
The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car does have some silver on its roof, intended to reflect away the sun’s heat radiation. Nonetheless, the cabin temperature is likely to hit sauna levels during competitions held in proper hot weather.
The internal temperature of Rally1 cars became a notable issue, especially during the 2022 season. In the current hybrid cars, the exhaust system runs under the co-driver’s seat, which has made conditions in the cockpit at times quite challenging.
“I remember the first time I was in the car. It was even a bit frightening how hot it was,” Halttunen states.
“The situation is not as bad anymore; something has been done about it. Now it’s quite bearable. But whenever there are really hot rallies, it’s not pleasant,” the Jyväskylä native chuckles.
Halttunen would make a change to the regulations that would significantly ease the driver pairs’ burden.
“It seems to be a certain trait of this sport that cars don’t have any air conditioning systems. I don’t understand that in today’s world. If you ask me, everyone should have an air conditioning system, and no one should save weight on this account. It’s available everywhere else, like in the Dakar Rally,” Halttunen points out.
“Rally men are such that they stick with old traditions.”
