19
April
2016
|
13:36
Europe/Amsterdam

Argentina awaits for Pirelli Scorpion K tyres

Robert Kubica

 


The varied gravel stages of Rally Argentina are the next stop on the World Rally Championship for Pirelli. The championship’s only event in South America is a classic part of the calendar that is known for the region’s passionate rally fans, more than a million of whom watch the stages each year. Some of those stages are made up of soft sandy valley roads, while others are held on rocky mountain tracks, so tyre versatility is crucial to a good result. April means autumn in Argentina, so rain is very much a possibility, while there’s the potential for fog and even ice at high altitude. Pirelli is bringing the latest evolution of its Scorpion K tyre, as introduced successfully last time out on Rally Mexico. This is available in hard (KHB) and soft (KSB) compounds. This year’s Rally Argentina consists of 18 stages totalling nearly 365 competitive kilometres. A new street stage in the city of Cordoba kicks off the action on Thursday evening, while there are also two runs through the more familiar superspecial at the Villa Carlos Paz theme park on Friday. The famous El Condor test will feature twice on Sunday, including as the power stage. Leading Pirelli drivers on Rally Argentina Pirelli privateers Lorenzo Bertelli and Valeriy Gorban both head to Argentina fresh from claiming their best WRC results yet in Mexico, and will hope for more top 10 finishes in their respective Ford and Mini World Rally Cars. Michel Fabre’s aim meanwhile will be to add to his lead in the WRC3 category after wins in Sweden and Mexico aboard his Citroen DS3 R3T. Italian former production competitor Fabio Frisiero will use Pirelli tyres to take on the local drivers aboard a Ford Fiesta built to Argentina’s Maxi Rally rules. The tyres and the rules World Rally Car drivers are permitted by the current regulations to use 24 tyres during the rally. In Argentina, Pirelli will provide each WRC crew with 24 of the 205/65-15 Scorpion KSB Reinforced soft compound as the main choice. There will also be 16 205/65-15 Scorpion KHB Reinforced hard compound supplied as an option for warmer conditions. In WRC3, where drivers can use a total of 22 tyres, 16 each of the K4 medium and K6 soft will be provided in 195/70-15 size. Quotes Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli rally activity manager: “The latest evolution of the Pirelli Scorpion K had a successful debut in Mexico, with its strong performance helping many of our drivers to score the best results of their careers on an event that always poses a tough test for tyres. We hope that the Pirelli drivers can achieve similar successes in Argentina, where the tyres have to perform on different styles of gravel road and often in varied weather conditions. The soft surfaces and relatively cool temperatures mean the soft compound is the main tyre in Argentina, but on long stages, drivers need to combine speed with durability.”

 

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For further information please contact: Anthony Peacock • +44 7765 896 930 • anthony@mediaticaworld.com