Before
going to Mexico, Calm Competició and its drivers have had
two test sessions to experiment with different setups for both
the electronics and the central differential.
While
Xevi Pons will drive a new Lancer Evo VII, Fombona will run
the same car previously used in Sweden. The new Öhlins
suspension for both ’’Mitsus’’ will
have specific gravel setups and, most importantly, totally new
electronics, adapted to the high altitude where the rally will
be run. Apart from that the team is also working on another
electronics-based topic: setups for the central differential.
Fitted with the "reactive" Michelins (tyres that are
almost identical to the ones supplied to the works teams), both
of the eye catching Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIIs in their Repsol
and RACC Automóvil Club liveries will be ready to allow
their drivers to compete once again for the points.
The importance of good electronics:
The terrain where the Mexican Rally will be run demands a new
series of parameters which aren't that relevant to other races.
The high altitude above sea level means that a specific engine
"mapping" needs to be done in order to suit this race.
The engineer for Calm Competició engines, Joan Fernández,
has been in León since the 2nd of March so as to prepare
an electronic chart that will minimise power losses. In fact,
with altitudes in the region of 2000 to 2500 meters, the group
N engines could lose as much as 40 BHP so the work of the electronic
engineers is vital.
«Trying
to fine tune things as much as possible is our challenge»,
says Josep Calm, the Calm Competició Chairman. «Which
means we have to work in a totally different way than usual
as the cars were transported to Mexico very early and, one week
before the official recce, our engineer and two mechanics were
already there working on the engine electronics. A second group
of people are arriving in Mexico on the 8th and the remaining
team members are arriving on the 10th of March. That makes a
total of 14 people working for RACC-Repsol-Mitsubishi».
Logistics,
a key aspect:
Rallying on the other side of the Atlantic,
(similarly to racing in Australia), means an extra logistic
effort. The cars, support vehicles and spare parts were sent
by ship just after Sweden, in order to have everything ready
at Guanajuato in the first week of March so as to have enough
time to organize the team for this the second rally of the series.
All this work was supervised by the team logistics manager Joan
Sureda.
