The World Rally Championship Rally1 teams faced a series of fuel system issues during the recent Acropolis Rally Greece, leading to intense investigations by the FIA. Toyota and M-Sport-Ford were forced to retire cars due to these unexpected challenges, shaking up the competition.
Toyota made the tough decision to retire Sami Pajari’s car after stage five on Friday, as his GR Yaris encountered a critical fuel system problem. Pajari, who was battling for a podium finish and had climbed as high as second place, had to sit out Saturday’s action while the team worked relentlessly to fix the issue. Meanwhile, M-Sport faced similar woes when Martins Sesks’ Puma suffered a fuel system malfunction, resulting in the team withdrawing the car before stage seven.
The drama continued as Gregoire Munster’s promising rally performance came to an abrupt end on Saturday night when M-Sport identified yet another fuel system issue, compelling them to retire his entry. These incidents have left the teams puzzled, with speculation pointing to the scorching heat in Greece, with cockpit temperatures soaring as high as 70C on Friday, as a potential trigger for the problems.
These challenges come in the wake of the WRC’s switch to a new sustainable fuel supplier after the collapse of P1 Racing Fuels. TotalEnergies took over as the WRC’s fuel supplier, but the recent events have raised concerns about the reliability of the fuel systems in the Rally1 cars. The FIA has stepped in to address the issue, stating, “The FIA has been made aware of an issue affecting the fuel tanks on certain Rally1 cars and is supporting the relevant teams and suppliers to understand and resolve the issue.”
As the investigation unfolds and teams strive to overcome these hurdles, the rallying world is on edge, eagerly awaiting a resolution to ensure fair and safe competition in the upcoming events.
