Kevin Struyf: “If the weather had changed, we wouldn't have been completely lost”

Looking at your car, it is clear that there has been a change with the removal of two large air intakes. Have you found another solution to cool your Yaris?

We have in fact worked on different designs which are both exterior, but also interior to satisfy all possible conditions for cooling the hybrid system. This also allowed us to gain mass and aerodynamic efficiency.

Were these two scoops causing disruptions in airflow? Did it slow the car down?

This didn't disrupt the flow that much, as we had studied it accordingly, but it still creates drag. In this case, you lose a little maximum speed. It is never the priority in rally, but it remains a performance factor on the fastest rounds. So there was still a fairly marked gain.

Apart from this level, are there other elements in the aero kit that have evolved before this Monte-Carlo?

In terms of aesthetics, this is the only thing that has been modified on our Rally1. In any case, it's the only one that can be seen. Our bumpers are the same and we had already made an upgrade to our wing last year during the Estonian rally.

And under the body, what has changed since 2022?

Overall, we have modifications that relate to the heart of the car and the important framework. By removing the hybrid cooling vents, we decided to use jokers for the engine. Our crews have a development to improve their performance. We have a wildcard this year on the transmission for a new differential tune. Finally, we have a change to the chassis that improves the front geometry on the asphalt. There has also been a refinement of the set up around the geometry and suspension settings.  

It seems to be working well until tonight, yet you only had one day of testing per pilot. How did you work?

Normally, we used to do it twice with one session in December and one in January. We have never prepared for Monte-Carlo with so little daylight. The fact that we had 4 crews still allowed us to have a good session. It was short, but it didn't worry us in terms of car settings. We still had to concentrate on a single surface and on a Monte-Carlo it is not impossible to encounter several.

Exactly, how would it have happened if the weather had changed?

We would have been in a bit of an unknown, but even if that had happened we wouldn't have been completely lost. We have actually been using the car for a year and we master it well. It is especially the drivers who would have been in the unknown, because they like to repeat the kilometers in these difficult conditions. We only meet them once a year. They only drive here with this type of tire.