The development deadlines of the new vehicles and the calendar of the 2021 season of the WRC define the days of tests that the manufacturers have with their ‘Rally1’ hybrids. For this reason, it is not surprising that the M-Sport and Toyota tests coincided at the beginning of August and they did it again a month later. In fact, the Cumbrian preparer and the Japanese manufacturer have completed test sessions in parallel with the Ford Puma Rally1 and the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Test with several premieres in both structures and that they have been made on different types of surfaces.
The M-Sport team has chosen to travel to Sardinia to complete a test in which the bulk of the tests have been on gravel. Later, the Ford Puma Rally1 has also run on asphalt, in this case in the south of France. Work is done In finland, again on gravel. Matthew wilson has returned to lead this triple test at the controls of the ‘Rally1’ of the British team, although this time Adrien Fourmaux and Gus Greensmith also rode with the ‘Rally1’ of the structure of Malcolm Wilson. The team has collected a large amount of data on different types of surfaces.
For its part, Toyota Gazoo Racing has also taken a step forward in its Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 test program. And, unlike previous tests, Juho Hänninen has not been the only driver to get on the Japanese ‘Rally1’. After defining its continuity for the next season, Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä have been able to roll for the first time with the Toyota Yaris Rally1. The setting chosen by the brand’s test team has been the mountainous roads around Gap, in the south of France. The sections chosen are typical of the Monte Carlo Rally.
However, the team has not carried out a typical pre-event test and has only chosen the roads of the French Alps because they are quite bumpy and uneven. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Team Technical Director, Tom fowler, has assured: «We are starting to leap forward. Don’t get me wrong, we still have a huge challenge ahead of us, but it’s not as daunting as it was a month ago. Many of the important things about the car are quite settled like transmission or suspensions. These are all things that take many months to make. We have a pretty concise picture of what we need».