3 report 1031en - toyota gazoo racing
Post on 01-Jan-2022
3 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
European roads demand a high standard.
Amid the f ir s t heav y rain o f the
European leg, the team travelled from
Slovenia to Hungar y . Even on the
mo tor w ay the r a in seemed to be
pooling on the surface, so that each
passing truck sent up sprays of water
which reduced visibility. The situation
was much the same on the country
roads, where cars rushed past at high
sp e e d s do w n t he na r r o w l ane s .
Looking back on his job, Koashi-san
f r o m t h e V e h i c l e E n g i n e e r i n g
Development Division reflected on the
significance of coming to Europe.
“ I t h a s g i v e n m e a g r e a t
understanding of the high level of
performance that is demanded. My
work is usually in environmental
p e r f o r m a n c e t e s t i n g , w h i c h
evaluates aspects such as road
surface interference and abnormal
noise inside the vehicle. I think of it
a s l a y i n g t h e fou nd at io n s fo r
manufacturing a car – foundations
t h a t m u s t n o t f a i l u n d e r a n y
circumstance. I have come to feel
proud of the fact that my work
h e l p s t o p r o v i d e t h e h i g h
performance demanded in Europe.”
Entering Austria from Hungary, the
line of wind-power turbines stretches
on endlessly . Wi th team members
f r om v ar ious Eur opean countr ies
being well-versed on electricity, the
c o n v e r s a t i o n l e a d s t o J a p a n ’ s
situation and the future of EV. These
meandering on-board conversations
always f ind their way back to the
topic of cars. European car culture
seems to have matured as a dialogue
between society and the environment.
Mi y aur a - s an f r om the Dr i v e t r a in
Experiment & Analysis Engineering
Division speaks with one of the other
passengers, Ziv Zioni f rom Israel,
ab ou t t he e f f e c t o f c r o s s w inds .
Checking how the car behaves right
a f ter be ing passed b y a t ruck or
o ther lar ge v ehic le , the pa ir ar e
reassured by the gent le sway ing.
Ljubljana Stuttgart
03
C omp ar ing s ens a t ions ma y w e l l
become Toyota’ s ‘shared language’ .
Data doesn’ t tell the whole story.
Austr ia, Hungar y , Poland, Czech
Republic – driving through dif ferent
countries every day makes it possible
to notice the changing environment at
each border crossing. Roads give a
t r u e r e f l e c t i o n o f e c o n o m i c
conditions. In Poland and the Czech
Republic, roads are constructed by
connecting a series of large concrete
p ane l s; t he gap s b e t w e e n t he m
r e ma in a s l ine s on t he s ur f a c e ,
constantly vibrating the car. Country
r oads ar e pa v e d in a pa t chw ork
fashion, and the speeds remain high
even on winding forest roads. When it
r a in s , t he r o a d s ur f a c e f r i c t i on
coe f f ic ient f luc tuates wildly . Wi th
conditions changing from moment to
moment, drivers must maintain a high
awareness a t al l t imes. Fu ji i - san,
w ho s e ma in r o l e a t t he V e h ic l e
Evaluation & Engineering Division is
conducting body strength simulations
via CAE and representing them on
paper, had previous experience with
these roads through data. However,
after having actually driven them, he
spoke about the need to reconsider
the validity of that data.
“W h e n c o n s i d e r e d g l o b a l l y ,
Euro pean roads are ranked as
‘good’ in the data. But does that
really envisage those uneven roads
being driven at such high speeds? I
found the roads to be far harsher
than I had imagined.”
Passing Team 1’ s midpoint also
pro v ides chances f or reunions in
various countries with those members
who were part of the leg’ s first half.
In Austria, the team was able to meet
up wi th Gerhard Korpi t sch a t the
dealer the y v is i t ed, while Poland
allowed a reunion with Jakub Motyka
a t t he TMMP p lan t . Se e ing them
welcome the team as proud hosts
conveyed the significance of the leg;
the visits keenly brought home the
meaning of Captain Takashima’ s ‘One
to follow behind over the wireless.
Speeding up while in the right lane,
t h e c a r s a c c e l e r a t e f u r t h e r t o
overtake another vehicle, then quickly
return to the right lane after passing.
Maintaining good communication with
the surrounding traffic, they drive on
at a steady 160kph. “The important
thing is rhythm,” says Sekiya. This
is a country where it is possible to
communicate with one’ s surroundings
by the way you dr ive. And so the
team arr ives in Germany, the 12th
c o u n t r y s i n c e P o r t u g a l a n d a n
automotive powerhouse.
Team’ presentation. Members from
TMC promised to play the role o f
hosts next time in Japan.
A country where driving speaks volumes.
Passing through various countries
provides oppor tunities to learn not
only about the roads but also about
t he dr i v ing s t y l e s in e a c h a r e a .
A c c or d ing t o S e k i y a - s an o f t he
Advanced Technical Skills Institute,
t r a v e l l ing f r om the une xpec tedly
‘ a g gr e s s i v e ’ E a s t e r n - E ur o p e a n
c o un t r i e s in t o G e r m a n y i s ‘ l i k e
drawing a beautiful line’ . Travelling
along the Autobahn, which in general
has no speed limits, proved a rather
tense time for members unfamiliar
with high-speed areas. Having never
before driven overseas, Fujii wipes
t he s w e a t f r om h i s hands w hi l e
gripping the steering wheel. Despite
accelerating to nearly 170kph, he has
trouble staying with the flow. Sekiya
passes from the rear, directing Fujii
Distance : 1,868km
Duration : September.11-
September.15,2017
Days : 5days
Vehicles : C-HR HV,Yaris HV,
Prius PHV,Aygo,
Corolla,GT86,PROACE
Reporter◯Toshiya Muraoka
9.12
9.11
9.13
9.14
9.15
Porto
Nürberg
top related