Team talk: Keeping cool in Turkey.

After a comparatively cool Leg one, drivers had to cope with higher temperatures on Leg two of the Rally Turkey today [Saturday]. Here are some facts concerning the heat and the way the Subaru team helps Petter Solberg and Mikko Hirvonen 'keep their cool'...

- At 9am the air temperature in service was 30?C and by 3pm it had reached 39?C. Due to the altitude, the air temperature on the stages was lower, but inside the cars it reached 35?C.

- Between 0730hrs and 1930hrs Solberg and Hirvonen drunk approximately 12 litres of fluid to replace that lost through sweating. The Subaru team doctor, Ignacio Muro, and trainer John Mills of the Human Performance department monitored hydration levels regularly and prepared special drinks to maintain a healthy electrolyte balance.

- Solberg, Phil [Mills], Hirvonen and Jarmo [Lehtinen] all wore the new Alpinestars lightweight two-layer overalls that were introduced for the Acropolis Rally earlier this month. Showers were available at the service area, together with fresh race-suits chilled in a freezer for maximum refreshment!

- To keep the cockpit temperatures down, and in addition to the fresh air fans under the dashboard, roof scoops have been fitted to direct streams of air down to the driver and co-driver. Further heat reducing measures on the cars for Turkey include light reflective glass and reflective white panels on the roof.

- As part of their acclimatisation training, Hirvonen trained at home in Finland wearing several layers of clothing while Petter has endured a 40 minute sauna every day for the last two weeks. On the recce, Solberg and Hirvonen both wore warm clothing and switched off their cars' air conditioning systems to help them get used to the conditions.