NOTHING TO SLOW THE PROGRESS OF THE TOYOTA FLEET FROM NOW ON
The brake problem which could have cost Ott Tanak his Rally Germany win last month has been traced to a bedding-in issue which Toyota has fixed – by getting the drivers to do the job themselves.
Like all manufacturers, Toyota uses a machine to bed pads and discs in ahead of each rally. That machine will still be used, but the drivers will now drive each set of pads and discs and conclude the process themselves before each event.
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s chief engineer Tom Fowler told Motorsport News: “The data from the machine indicated the job had been done properly. Obviously, we need to look more closely at that, but firstly we’re making changes to the process.
“The first of those changes is the easiest, which is getting the drivers to bed the brakes in themselves – or at least complete the process and make sure they are happy with each set. To an extent, the drivers do this on the way to a stage, just to get a feel for a new set – but now we’re going to be doing all sets before the rally starts. It is, a little bit, going back to the old ways of doing it.”
Offering more detail on Tanak’s problem, he said the bigger issue came from an imbalance across the car.
He added: “The pads and disc weren’t mating properly and across the loop of stages there was a gradual degrading of the bite. That wasn’t the main problem for Ott. The real issue was that this problem manifested itself on a front corner of the car, which gave an imbalance in the braking and affected the handling.”
Fowler pointed out that this bedding-in issue might have been there for a while, but only came to light on a German event which is one of the hardest on brakes.
He concluded: “The braking forces and temperatures are higher in Germany, so it’s possible it might have been there [before].”