RALLY OF THE CANARY ISLANDS 2019

Volkswagen Motorsport reacts to fires at Polo GTI R5

Volkswagen Motorsport reacted to the wave of fires that affected its Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 cars. The Germans investigated and revealed that the position of the safety valve on the fuel tank had to be adjusted.
In some cases, the respiratory system of the fuel cell was blocked, resulting in excessive pressure. By adding the exhaust heat factor, this pressure causes the reservoir cap to deform.
The technical solution found by Volkswagen was to reinforce the tank cover around the longitudinal axis and the exhaust with a steel support, thus optimizing the insulation. The respiratory system of the fuel cell will also be modified in order to correctly regulate any possible overpressure. In addition, the clearance between the central exhaust and the tank should be increased.
After the fires consumed some cars of the German brand, no compensation was announced for the teams whose cars were destroyed, but Volkswagen announced that customers will receive the update for free.
There are suggestions that some riders who race with the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 can now switch to the Skoda Fabia R5. David Pacheco, Portugal