Skoda responds to the competition

Within a particularly competitive Rally2 category, Skoda Motorsport does not want to be left behind by the Citroën C3 or the new Yaris. The Czech Republic team therefore conducted tests to improve its Fabia RS.

Published on 21/03/2024 à 06:44

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Skoda Motorsport continues to evolve its Fabia RS (Photo: Skoda Motorsport)

Approved on 1^er September 2022, the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 made its debut in WRC during Monte-Carlo 2023. Victorious in 11 of the 13 rounds of the previous championship, the latest version of the car born in Mlada Boleslav has superbly taken up the torch from the Fabia Evo. In addition to the successes experienced in WRC2 (Andreas Mikkelsen's coronation), the Fabia has also won numerous national titles to complete an already very impressive list. Despite these trophies, Skoda's technicians have not stopped working on the car and several areas are expected to see changes happening soon.

By proceeding in this way, Skoda hopes to contain the attacks of the Citroën C3 and keep a margin on the Toyota Yaris which appeared in January. For this, three major axes were explored by Oliver Solberg, but also Erik Cais.

Before rally from Sweden, Oliver led a session on snow. “ Our objective, explains Aleš Rada, technical director of Skoda, was to make the Fabia RS even more competitive for fast dirt rounds. One of the development points in this regard was the gear ratio of the gearbox. So far we have only approved one set of gears, but we are allowed to have a second set. » While working with engineers to introduce a 5^e longer report, Solberg was also able to try new aerodynamic solutions. Before being tested on a special stage, they were able to be developed in the Audi wind tunnel in Ingolstadt (Germany).

Skoda Motorsport was able to work on the aerodynamics of its Fabia in the Audi wind tunnel in Germany (Photo: Skoda Motorsport)

Eager to offer the most competitive equipment possible to its customers, the Skoda Motorsport team was also interested in the suspensions of its Rally2. Erik Cais led a gravel test session in Portugal to work on the shock absorbers. “ Products show great improvement compared to 2023, explained the Czech. They provide a lot of grip and, therefore, more confidence to the rider. »

Now relying on these two young drivers for the development of its car, Skoda will see in the coming months whether their technical background was sufficient to allow the Fabia to remain at the top of the category.