The Rallye Monte-Carlo has not only sanctioned the sensational duel between the two most successful drivers of the last 20 years of the World Rally Championship, but also the beginning of a new era, that of hybrid propulsion, consisting of a 380 horsepower 1.6 turbo engine. and a 100 kW electric motor, about 134 horsepower, and Rally1 cars.
There was great curiosity around these cars. The teams, for different reasons, didn’t have much time to make them, try them out, and eventually make changes – which in some cases were huge, like in Hyundai Motorsport’s – to get ready for the new season.
Monte-Carlo, therefore, was the first stage in history for the new Rally1 cars, much heavier cars than the WRC Plus due to the electrical package consisting of a carbon box placed above the rear axle and containing the electric motor. an inverter and the battery pack, but also new safety systems adopted to try to make the cars even safer.
The Rally1 cars proved to be slower than the WRC Plus, as per initial forecasts, also due to less thrust aerodynamics (absent front aerodynamic profiles and abolition of the rear diffuser, as well as that of the aerodynamic windows placed just behind the rear wheel arches. .
Not to mention the use of a transmission with 5 gears plus reverse, no longer with 6 gears as was the case until last year; and the gear shift back to lever, leaving the paddle behind the steering wheel. Not a small revolution, which forced the pilots to review their driving style also as regards energy recovery using the “Regen” mode.
Everyone’s attention, however, almost immediately turned to the new safety systems due to the terrible accident that saw the protagonist Adrien Fourmaux, one of the four official drivers lined up by M-Sport Ford. The Frenchman, while he was intent on signing an excellent time in the PS3 Roure / Beuil 1 of 18.33 kilometers, approached a right-hand corner too quickly, ending up hitting the rock inside the curve and then being catapulted off the roadway. ending in a deep cliff.
The Ford Puma number 16 was literally demolished by multiple impacts with rock, asphalt and more rock. But both Fourmaux and his navigator Alexandre Coria came out unscathed from the terrible carom, only so frustrated by the mistake made. At the scene of the accident were parts of the Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid EcoBoost, and they were everywhere.
But the cockpit survival cell held up perfectly. It is not an insignificant aspect, because the cell was reinforced just this season. As you can see from the photo above, new crew protection bars have been added. Two behind the pilot and the co-driver and two more next to them, with two horizontal tubes, to try to better block side impacts.
These precautions were taken to try to make the cars safer in the event of a rollover at high speed. These measures would certainly have come in handy even in the terrible accident involving Ott Tanak in 2020.
Another very important aspect is linked not only to the resistance of the crew’s survival cell, but also to the carbon box that houses the electric package supporting the 380 horsepower 1.6 turbo heat engine.
Once the M-Sport crew left the wreck of the Puma number 16, the green lights on the windshield and on the windows behind those of the crew (where the surnames and flags related to the nationality of the pilot and navigator are placed, photo above ) were regularly green.
Remember that when the lights are green they indicate that it is possible to touch the car, that the electrical system linked to the hybrid propulsion has not been damaged in any way and is not dangerous. People are only allowed to touch the car with the green lights. With the red lights or the absence of lights in the aforementioned points, it is forbidden to touch them as this indicates a malfunction and breakdown of the system.
The Ford Puma, on the other hand, still had green lights, a symptom that the electric motor, inverter and battery pack did not suffer any damage despite the numerous and terrible impacts against rocks and asphalt. This is also an excellent signal not only linked to the accident in question, but also to the possible accidents that could occur during the season.
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