FIA investigating fuel system related WRC retirements

The FIA is investigating a series of fuel system issues experienced by World Rally Championship Rally1 teams at Acropolis Rally Greece, which prompted Toyota and M-Sport-Ford to retire cars.

Toyota opted to retire Sami Pajari on the road section after stage five on Friday due to a fuel system issue on his GR Yaris. The Finn was locked in the fight for the podium places, sitting in fifth having run as high as second.

Pajari rejoined the rally on Sunday having had to sit out Saturday’s action as Toyota were unable to fix the issue in service.

M-Sport also encountered a fuel system issue on Martins Sesks Puma on Friday that forced the team to retire the car before stage seven. The team were able to replace the fuel tank to allow Sesks to start Saturday’s stages.

It is believed all Rally1 teams were monitoring issues throughout the weekend, while Rally2 cars appeared to avoid problems.

Autosport understands another fuel system issue forced M-Sport to retire Gregoire Munster’s entry on Saturday night. Munster had driven a smart rally to sit in sixth, and was on course for much needed strong points haul before M-Sport identified the problem.

It is unclear what exactly has caused the fuel system issues, although it is widely believed the extreme heat experienced in Greece, with cockpit temperatures reaching as high as 70C on Friday, has acted as a catalyst for the problems.

The problems have arrived in what is the fourth event since the WRC changed to a new sustainable fuel supplier after P1 Racing Fuels went into administration earlier this year. The FIA quickly moved to appoint TotalEnergies as the WRC’s fuel supplier with the French supplier beginning its tenure from Rally Islas Canarias in April.

“The FIA has been made aware of an issue affecting the fuel tanks on certain Rally1 cars and is supporting the relevant teams and suppliers to understand and resolve the issue,” read a statement from the FIA.