Toyota with improvements to its Yaris in Estonia

Despite a lead of 62 points over Hyundai, Toyota does not intend to slow down, on the contrary. If its Yaris is undoubtedly the best car on the field with 4 victories in 6 rallies, all signed by Kalle Rovanperä, the Japanese manufacturer continues to develop it. The goal ? Countering the top speed of the South Korean i20s, the fastest in the field since the start of the season.

So for Estonia, the rally the fastest so far in the season, Toyota has decided to make some changes to its Yaris, particularly in terms of the engine, in addition to the rear wing. “ The Hyundai is faster than our car in a straight line, says Tom Fowler, technical director of the Japanese firm, from WRC. This means they have a better engine. Is it radically different or better? Well, if it is a measurable difference, it is still a difference and therefore it becomes a subject that we must study and work on."

If he did not want to reveal more information regarding the engine improvements, Tom Fowler said a little more regarding the rear wing planned for Estonia, not much according to him.

« The rear wing is linked to the balance of the carHe says. It's a small readjustment. For the engine, as you can imagine, we collect a lot of data and we saw that if you want a car for the straights, you want a Hyundai. But if there are corners, you want a Toyota. It's not just the engine (regarding Hyundai), we know they also have Ott (Thank you) with the home advantage here, just like Thierry (Neuville) in Belgium. They will be very strong in the next rallies. I think we all know there are some long straights and maybe a few less corners over the next three events… » It remains to be seen whether these developments will allow the Yaris to stand up to the i20s on Estonian gravel where top speed will be the watchword.

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