Off Road Tatra Testing

Unfortunately, last week was rather demanding so it’s taken a little longer than we expected to get the photos up from our trip to the Czech Republic.

Our week started with a few days in the workshop. We helped with some technical modifications, installing an additional temperture sensor on the cylinder head in the engine and checking the position of the deflectors that control the air flow for cooling. We made some last-minute checks and adjustments, aligned the steering, and tested the lifting bags that we’ll be using instead of a jack during the rally. During the first days at the workshop, we had a chance to take the Tatra out on the prooving ground to make sure everything was ready for the off road testing.

We also completed a number of special arrangements in the cabin: we installed electricity for all the rally equipment, changed the screws in the seats, checked the fixtures of the safety harnesses and replaced the FIA cabin security cable closures so they are easier to remove when the cabin needs to be tilted for work.

On Friday we left for a day and a half of realistic driving tests on an off road training ground in Slovakia. The field was a real “paradise, ” one of the best training grounds we’ve seen. The terrain was mostly sand with long fast tracks for speed, a few hills for practicing ascents and descents, and technical sections with lots of bumps and dips for checking the suspension and handling.

We had two objectives. Primarily, the testing served to verify the configuration in conditions similar to what we’ll encounter in a rally. In addition, the test drive was also a training for us to learn to use the new equipment (like the CTIS) and get accustomed to how the Tatra handles with the changes to the suspension and the new settings.

The Tatra is one of the most efficient vehicles we’ve ever driven. We were impressed with its capabilities in the sand. We were also surprised by the CTIS. The ability to change the tire pressure in a matter of seconds is not just a nice-to-have, it brings a decisive advantage.

At the end of the day on Saturday, we had logged over 200km without a major problem. Sometime in the afternoon we noticed that one of the front shock absorbers had been destroyed. We’re not sure how that happened, but we suspect it might have been defective. We’ll have a few spares with us when racing in case we need to make a replacement. The only other casualty of the weekend was a broken headlight.

All in all we were quite pleased with the results, coming home with a configuration that will be solid for our first rally and confident that we’ll be able to use it. We also had a great time and met some wonderful people during the week. We already have some ideas for future upgrades to the Tatra, so we hope to have an opportunity to go back again soon.

With luck we’ll have some video from the tests up by the end of the week.