Andreucci, Peugeot Italia and Pirelli close in on the title at the Rally Adriatico
On the seventh and penultimate round of the Italian Rally Championship, Pirelli is in a strong position to consolidate the success in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles that it has achieved in recent years. The Rally Adriatico takes the Italian series back to gravel, with Paolo Andreucci just two points off the lead of the drivers’ championship in his Peugeot Italia 208 T16 R5, which is at the head of the manufacturers’ championship. Alessandro Nucita returns to competition in a Pirelli-equipped Peugeot 207 S2000 on the Cingoli-based event, halfway down the east coast of Italy. In the Junior championship, Stefano Albertini is aiming to make it a clean sweep for Pirelli with his Peugeot 208 R2, but he will face strong competition from the similar car of Giacomo Scattolon. Pirelli also equips both Renault single-make trophies: the Trofeo Clio R3 and Trofeo Twingo R2, in line with the company-wide philosophy of creating opportunities for young drivers The Rally Adriatico begins this evening (September 20) and finishes on Sunday afternoon following 11 gravel stages in total. Leading Pirelli drivers on Rally Adriatico Paolo Andreucci, just two points off the championship lead, is the top Pirelli runner for the Peugeot Italia Racing Lions team. The Pirelli line-up includes: Paolo Andreucci/Anna Andreussi (Peugeot 208T16) Andrea Nucita/Sara Cotone (Peugeot 207 S2000) The tyres available The Pirelli drivers will use the K family of Scorpion gravel tyres. The well-known performance and durability of the K4, with its bespoke tread pattern and specially formulated compound, make it ideal to cut through loose stones and dirt on harder surfaces. For less firm or damper surfaces, the softer compound K6 tyre is also available. Quotes Paolo Andreucci, Pirelli driver: “Everything actually started with me, Peugeot and Pirelli on the Rally dell’Adriatico in 2009. Our debut resulted in a victory and since then we have all enjoyed a lot of success together. So for this reason it’s a rally that I am very fond of and one where I hope we can have more success. Even though it’s a gravel rally we reach very high speeds, and with our last two rallies resulting in victory with the 208 T16, we have a lot to aim for. We’ve found a very good feeling with the car and tyre package now, which gets better day by day, and we hope to make the most of it – with the help of Pirelli.” Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli product manager: “Paolo has become probably the most successful driver at the wheel of the Peugeot 208 T16 to date, equipped with the latest generation of our tyres. This underlines just how effectively our tyres work with the current R5 cars, which represent the future of rallying. Adriatico is a very demanding rally, with special stages at quite high altitude and a gravel surface that is compact but slippery on the surface. The design of our K tyres means that they are able to find good grip both on the straights and during turn-in, which is precisely what is needed to succeed on this rally.”
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For more information about Pirelli, please contact Anthony Peacock on +44 7765 896 930 or anthony@mediaticaworld.com