Rally Turkey Preview

Based in the coastal resort of Marmaris, Rally Turkey features some of the toughest terrain in the WRC, with the rocky gravel surface and high temperatures combining to create demanding conditions for the cars.

The relatively slow average speeds can add to the complexities, reducing the airflow available to cool the engines, transmissions and brakes.

This year’s Rally Turkey begins on Friday evening (following shakedown in the morning) with the İçmeler and Gökçe tests. That is followed on Saturday by a full loop of three stages to the west of Marmaris, repeated following midday service.

Sunday features the longest stage of the rally – the 38.15-kilometre Çetibeli – plus the shorter Marmaris test, both run for a second time after a final service break.

A shortened itinerary sees 12 stages run over 223km with no spectators due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions.

Transforming the set-up from that required for smooth and fast gravel of Estonia to that of rough and abrasive gravel in Turkey, the technicians will soon get to work changing and strengthening a number of items to ensure the rally cars are geared up for the challenges ahead.

New suspension parts and transmissions will be fitted, alongside additional protection to safeguard against the rough terrain and larger fans and cooling packages to combat the soaring temperatures.

The engineers will then fine-tune the set-up and raise the ride height for optimum performance on Turkey’s demanding stages.