FIA considers solutions for cockpit high temperatures

FIA and WRC Commision are searching for solutions with the intention of avoiding the existence of high temperatures inside the Rally1 cars in future after a numerous complaint which came from the drivers and the teams during Rally de Portugal.

In Portugal, the temperature was very high and this had an impact to the crews as their cockpit was warmer than the environment, therefore many of them felt exhausted at the end of stages.

It is noteworthy that the temperatures were so high that Paul Nagle's shoes were melting and for this reason there was an awful smell inside the Craig Breen's and Nagle's car.

Last but not least, it must be mentioned that the exhaust system is now located on the co-driver's side which means that the co-drivers faces higher temperatures than the driver.

WRC Commission and FIA had a meeting on Wednesday 25th May and, according to DirtFish's sources, they proposed eight solutions for this problem from which five of them are free and do not need homologation.

Read below the possible solutions for the high temperatures in the cockpit that are free:

• An opening in the windscreen cowl which would increase the air flow
• A duct which would be fitted on the wing mirrors or on the floor of the car
• A ceramic coating which would be fitted around the exhaust system
• A second roof vent which would be largen than the current one
• Silver-lined windows
• Rear window vents

Finally, it must be mentioned that Jari-Matti Latvala proposed an air conditioning inside the car which will be the same for all the cars whereas Hyundai Motorsport has already tested something new for Sardinia this week as the roof was different in comparison with the original one during its tests for the fifth round of this year's World Rally Championship.

"A series of proposals have been presented to the members of the WRC Commission on Wednesday 25 May to address the challenges related to cockpit temperatures experienced at Rally Portugal last week and encourage manufacturer teams to use the full range of options offered by the regulations", a statement of FIA said.

"Some of those proposals require the support of the homologation commission.

"The WRC Commission has expressed strong support to take urgent action. 

"The technical team at the FIA and manufacturers together are now working towards solutions to help resolve these issues ahead of the upcoming events Rally Italia Sardegna and Safari Rally Kenya".

Source: DirtFish.com

Photo Credits: Hyundai