WORLD RALLY CAR REAR WING LEGALITY CLARIFIED
Confusion leads to a new instruction from the governing body following debate on Rally Finland
The FIA has instructed all four World Rally Championship manufacturers to comply with a clarification document concerning the rear wings on their World
Rally Cars after anomalies were discovered at last week’s Rally Finland.
The governing body was at pains to emphasise no parts were running illegally – all manufacturer World Rally Cars comply with the homologation documents – but the regulation concerning aerodynamics needed clarifying. The FIA has given the teams until Rally Turkey next month to comply.
Motorsport News understands Toyota’s rear wing was at the heart of the debate, with clarification required to confirm its specification and measurements. The suggestion to MN was that it sat outside the regulations. The aerodynamic specification of the Yaris’s rear wing hasn’t changed since it was homologated at the start of 2017.
Asked specifically about Toyota,
FIA rally director Yves Matton told Motorsport News: “There is no story about the Toyota rear wing. There has been a clarification concerning the rear wings from the World Rally Cars. We have asked all the manufacturers to do the work and put them in conformity for Turkey. There is an action plan that we have asked all the manufacturers [to comply with].”
Following two late-night meetings on Friday, the teams put together a combined statement saying: “There is some problem on the homologation on the rear wing. All together we have to settle this because things are not very clear and we have to settle all of this for Rally Turkey. Something has to be done to settle the homologation for all of the teams [regarding the rear wing].”
Toyota declined to comment specifically beyond that statement, but a source told MN: “What caused this confusion? The car was presented to the FIA for homologation at the start of 2017. The FIA passed the car for homologation. These are the facts. Since then, the car has passed scrutineering every time because the wing complies with the homologation document.”
Matton accepted the FIA was at fault in the original homologation process.
The Belgian added: “I would say, if there is a fault, it’s the FIA. This is not Toyota, I told you all the cars are part of this action plan [for Turkey].”