Five WRC drivers choose Pirelli Scorpion KHA and KSA tyres for Rally GB Challenge

Five World Rally Car drivers will compete on Wales Rally GB this weekend (November 12-15). Wales Rally GB is the final round of the World Rally Championship season and the event is one of the toughest gravel rallies in the championship. As such, Pirelli will have its Scorpion KHA Reinforced and KSA Reinforced tyres available. Drivers will have a choice of hard or soft compounds, in accordance with the latest regulations. The challenging stages are all based in Wales and they have a reputation for being affected by the weather in one way or another. Great Britain in November can throw anything into the mix, from sunshine to freezing winds and fog. The road surface can be dry or extremely wet and slippery, so the tyres have to be able to cope with anything: especially sudden changes of grip. The rally will begin with the ceremonial start in Llandudno on the north coast of Wales on Thursday (November 12) at 18:30. The action then begins at 09:27 on Friday with 131.4-kilometres of special stages before the cars return to the service area in Deeside. Saturday includes 142.32 kilometres of on-stage rallying and the Power Stage concludes the 36.43 kilometres of running on Sunday. In total there are 19 stages.

Robert Kubica

Leading Pirelli drivers in Great Britain: Formula One race-winner Robert Kubica is the top Pirelli entrant in the WRC1 class, and he’s seeded in 13th place in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Kubica made his World Rally Car debut on this event two years ago, so it is one of the events he knows best. Martin Prokop and Lorenzo Bertelli, Pirelli stalwarts this season, join Kubica in the WRC1 class, as do Irish brothers Josh and Sam Moffett. They line up immediately behind Pirelli’s regulars. All four drivers are also in Fiesta RS WRCs. In the WRC2 class, the Skoda Fabia R5 of Eyvind Brynildsen and Ford Fiesta RRC of Yuriy Protasov are among the leading runners, while Pirelli also supports the ACI-backed Italian Junior Team of Damiano De Tommaso and Fabio Andolfi, both driving Peugeot 208 R2s. The tyres available and the rules: Pirelli’s World Rally Car class contenders can use a maximum of 24 tyres during Rally GB with covers used in shakedown not included in the overall quantity allowed for the event under WRC rules. They can choose from 24 of the first choice 205/65 R15 Scorpion KSA Reinforced and 16 of the 205/65 R15 KHA Reinforced. Pirelli’s six WRC2 contenders can select from 22 of the 205/65 R15 Scorpion KSA Reinforced and 16 of the 205/65 R15 KHA Reinforced. Quotes: Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli product manager: “We introduced our Scorpion KSA and KHA Reinforced tyres on Rally Australia in September and we have been pleased with the performance from these tyres that we have seen so far. Rally GB will be a further test for them, because we all know that it is one of the most unpredictable events on the calendar. If it doesn’t rain in the days before the rally then the surface will be hard and compacted, which offers good grip and higher speeds. But if it rains before or in the middle of the rally then the grip becomes much harder to find because the mud can get quite thick. So whatever happens the tyre will be tested and the drivers will ask a lot from it, with a wide variety of weather conditions possible as well. Lots of drivers will be on Pirelli tyres, from the WRC drivers to those in the less powerful R5, R3 and R2 cars also – so this rally is always a nice challenge for us.”

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