Over the rigours and challenges of a long rally stage, there are many obstacles that could bring a Subaru World Rally Team Impreza's rally to an end. Whilst punctures are most common, damage to suspension, brakes, bodywork or even engine can result from heavy impacts or accidents.
As a result, each crew carries a surprisingly comprehensive selection of over 100 tools and spare components on board to cope with most situations. As a general rule, if it is realistic to rectify a problem at the side of the road, the crew will have the tools and means to enable them to do so.
While the exact tool kit varies according to driver preference, in each Impreza WRC2007 there is a specialised wheel jack, a wheel brace, electric impact wrench and a selection of sockets and spanners of the most common sizes.
The cars are also packed with equipment ranging from engine sensors, allen keys, nuts and bolts, hose clips and blanking plugs to fresh engine oil, a spare alternator belt and backup communications equipment. To adjust the car's setup, there are tools to adjust dampers, differential pre-load and tyre pressures. Each has its own dedicated place where it can be easily reached.
Unlike your average car jack, often mounted in the boot, the specially-designed version used by the team allows the car to be raised and lowered much more quickly via a pump-handle action, and is mounted in the Impreza's cabin for easy access. From jack up to repacking, a complete wheel change can be completed in less than a minute.
Crucially, the jack is capable of raising the car almost twice the height reached by a standard road car jack so that, when competing on gravel rallies, the increased suspension travel can be accounted for and the car lifted sufficiently to raise the wheel clear of the ground.
The electric impact wrench, strapped to the floor of the co-driver's footwell, can remove wheel nuts and other bolts with less effort and more quickly than by using a hand tool. This saves time and also means the crew are less exhausted by the end, enabling them to be more focussed on completing the stage.
If the crews run into trouble on a stage, every second counts. Braving all conditions, crews may find themselves working at the side of the road in temperatures ranging from minus 25 degrees Celsius in Sweden to above forty on rallies such as Sardinia or, in 2008, Jordan. But it is not enough to simply have the tools, and the team's drivers and co-drivers are all trained to know exactly how to use them.
