Gus Greensmith did the job he set out to on Safari Rally Kenya – win aboard his RaceSeven-prepared Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
The result is the one he wanted. But how he got there worried him somewhat. He’d fought against a trio of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s – Oliver Solberg, then Kajetan Kajetanowicz and finally Jan Solans – and at various times, fallen behind all of them. The ongoing trend over the last year, even, was a concern.
Škoda was no longer the king of Rally2. Toyota had turned up with its three-cylinder GR Yaris last year and immediately won the WRC2 title.
Greensmith had noticed a shift. His chariot was no longer quite at the races compared to the Toyota.
“I think the Toyotas have taken a step,” Greensmith told DirtFish, “and I think we are a step behind them.
Greensmith won the Safari by enduring – but is worried the Škoda is a step behind Toyota in speed
“We need to find something going into Portugal, which will be my next race.”
There’s good news for Greensmith. Mladá Boleslav has taken note of the trend – and homologated a new set of upgrades to fight back with.
Škoda is bringing ‘Packet 25’ to market. Closing the performance gap Greensmith mentioned is front and center of the changes.
The RS Rally2’s exhaust system has been revised to extract more power from the engine, by optimising the flow of gases by improving mixture preparation and combustion. In-cylinder gas exchange directly impacts power output – and they’ve sought to improve this by lowering the amount of energy it takes to make that happen.
Škoda claims its new exhaust manifold has lowered the energy required by 27% – plus the exhaust system has been lightened and the engine management system tweaked.
Škoda's hope is a new exhaust manifold is the key to unlocking more power from its engine
If you’re not a Rally2 customer but a fan at the side of the road, the upgrade comes with potentially good news anyway – they say the exhaust upgrade creates a “more pronounced engine note.”
Reliability on gravel has also been addressed – just in time for the WRC’s traditional block of mid-season European gravel rounds.
Tweaks to the damper reservoir and internal components like the seals promise to improve the reliability of the car’s gravel-spec dampers. There’s also additional protection for the rear uprights, aimed at protecting the driveshaft boots and both the callipers and cooling hoses on the brakes. The roof vent has also been redesigned to improve airflow and keep the cockpit cooler.
New dampers and rear upright shielding aims to improve reliabilty on gravel rounds
All newly-built RS Rally2s will come with the upgrades – and there’s the option of fitting lighter seats that shed four kilograms from the car’s total weight. Packet 25 has also come on-stream for existing customers to retrofit to their current RS Rally2s.
That’s bound to be music to Greensmith’s ears.
