New Zealand Rally

For the next two events in the World Rally Championship, drivers will be competing in the southern hemisphere for the New Zealand and Australia rallies. The New Zealand event (October 4-6) could be the key to an enjoyable end to the season for Pirelli as it is an event where the PZero gravel tyres have enjoyed great success over many years. Springtime in New Zealand always brings the possibility of variable weather and therefore changing demands but Pirelli has proved consistently that it can rise to those challenges and provide a tyre range that has the necessary versatility.

"The base surface is quite rocky with a layer of stones on the top," says Pirelli Rally Manager, Fiorenzo Brivio. "There is quite a severe camber to some of the roads and that can also affect how the tyres wear but this is not generally an event that is especially hard on tyres these days. A few years ago we would expect to go to New Zealand with a mid-range of compounds to cope with conditions that were usually damp and often quite wet. Now we can expect drier conditions, generally, but we must always be prepared for bad weather. Although it is getting close to summer, the temperatures can still be quite cold - especially on the stages near the coast at the most southern part of the route - and so we have to be aware of that when selecting the compounds for New Zealand."

This season Pirelli already has three wins on gravel through its partner team Ford; for Colin McRae in Greece and Kenya, for Carlos Sainz in Argentina. The PZero tyres have always been competitive on these surfaces and have taken many Stage wins while their strength is also without question, a fact proved by McRae Safari win without a single puncture. Pirelli goes to New Zealand aiming to add to its recent record of 7 wins from the past 11 WRC events.

Dry Or Muddy?
The characteristic features of the New Zealand Rally are the high speeds and smooth, twisty Stages. The surface can also become very wet and slippery if the weather turns to rain. For these two types of surface, therefore, Pirelli will rely on the well-established K and KM pattern tyres, chosen by both Ford and Subaru, with around 2000 covers being transported to the event, all fitted with the EMI anti-deflation system.

To cope with conditions different from the "base" situation, all of the tyres can be further hand cut to alter the performance characteristics. In the conditions expected on this event, Pirelli has enjoyed many Stage wins and overall victories in recent years .

For Hard And Clean Surfaces
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type A tyre for hard surfaces with little loose gravel
Compound options 2, 4 and 6 (all with evolutions)
Description Compound 4 is for dry surfaces and temperatures up to 20 degrees and for higher temperatures we will use compound 2. In cold weather, or if the roads are damp/wet, we will use compound 6.

For Smooth Or Sandy Surfaces
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for when there is loose gravel on the surface
Compound options 2, 4 and 6 (all with evolutions)
Description As with K, compound 4 is for dry surfaces and temperatures up to 20 degrees and for higher temperatures we will use compound 2. In cold weather, or if the roads are damp/wet, we will use compound 6.

>b>NOTE The higher the compound number the softer the tyre.
 

The Pirelli Squad For New Zealand
2 Subaru Impreza WRC Makinen-Lindstrm* , Solberg-Mills*
3 Ford Focus RS Sainz-Moya*, McRae-Grist*,Martin-Park*
5 Mitsubishi Lancer Group N Ferreyros, Fiorio, Iliev, Ligato, Manfrinato & Rowe
1 Proton (Group N) Singh

Plus other cars of teams not regularly engaged in the World Rally Championship

* Registered for Manufacturers' Championship points

Pirelli's New Zealand Record
Pirelli's success rate on the New Zealand Rally has been exemplary over the past decade or so. Carlos Sainz underlined the performance capabilities of the PZero gravel tyres with three consecutive victories from 1990-1992. Colin McRae claimed two wins for Pirelli in the next three seasons as he stamped his authority on both the event and the sport (his third success win was in his title-winning season). Richard Burns' win last year was the kick-start he needed to get his ultimately successful World Championship campaign back on track after a frustrating start to the year.

Recent winners
1990 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica GT-Four)
1991 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica GT-Four)
1992 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1993 Colin McRae/Derek Ringer(Subaru Legacy 4WD Turbo)
1994 Colin McRae/Derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555)
1995 Colin McRae/Derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555)
1996* Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1997 Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander (Subaru Impreza WRC97)
1998 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Corolla WRC)
1999 Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
2000 Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Peugeot 206 WRC)
2001 Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Subaru Impreza WRC2001)

*W2L event only

Contact website: www.rallynz.org.nz

Around The World In 14 Events

Monte Carlo 18-20 January Asphalt/snow/ice
The perfect start to the season for Pirelli with an historic victory going to the Subaru of Tommi Makinen and with four cars fitted with Pirelli PZero tyres in the top six places. The rally was run almost entirely without snow and saw a superb result the RS tyre in the level 9 'thermal' compound that gives maximum performance in conditions of dry asphalt with only a little ice.

Sweden* 1-3 February Snow/ice/gravel
Unfortunately early snow turned quickly into mud but already the Subarus of Makinen and Solberg had retired with engine problems and McRae's Ford suffered a heavy penalty, breaking a wheel after hitting a rock. Third place for Sainz in the other Ford was the best result although again the competition showed the positive steps forward made by the PZero studded tyres.

Corsica* 8-10 March Asphalt
A mixture of dry asphalt on the first day and then wet or damp for the next two days provided a difficult test for tyre choices. However the latest evolutions of the PZero asphalt range proved to be exceptionally competitive in all conditions. Unfortunately Makinen and McRae crashed out of the event but Pirelli's asphalt performance brought fastest times for both Ford and Subaru.

Catalunya 22-24 March Asphalt
Another good test of the PZero asphalt tyres on the variable asphalt surfaces that are a feature of this event. Although the final podium was dominated by drivers from Peugeot and Citroen there were excellent performances by Solberg (Subaru) in fifth place ahead of the Fords of McRae and Martin. Unfortunately both Makinen and Sainz had to retire from the event.

Cyprus* 19-21 April Gravel
The PZero gravel tyre range dominated the stage times in Cyprus, winning 17 of the 19 stages contested and will every one of the Pirelli works teams' drivers from Ford and Subaru setting at least one fastest stage time. Unfortunately two accidents on the final day robbed Colin McRae of victory.

Argentina* 17-19 May Gravel
The result swung comprehensively Pirelli's way with a 1-2-3-4 success following the exclusions of both leading Peugeots, first of Gronholm and then of Burns. Sainz (Ford-Pirelli) took his first win for two years but the event could just as easily have been won by Makinen (Subaru-Pirelli) until he crashed while battling for victory with Gronholm on the final morning. Another good performance by the PZero gravel tyres in all conditions but always with the KM pattern.

Acropolis 14-16 June Gravel
Four PZero equipped cars ended the rally in the top six places with outright victory going to Colin McRae with his Ford-Pirelli team mate Carlos Sainz taking third place, Petter Solberg (Subaru-Pirelli) fifth and early leader Markko Martin (Ford-Pirelli) sixth. It was another demonstration of the strength of the XR tyre, used almost exclusively on this demanding event.

Safari * 11-14 July Gravel
The third gravel event win in a row, and the fourth of the season for the PZero tyre range. Pirelli lead from start to finish, first with Makinen (who retired with a mechanical problem) and then with McRae who completed his 25th WRC victory without a single puncture. This was a famous victory for the XR tyre that was used on every stage except one without the EMI anti-deflation system.

Finland* 8-11 August Gravel
A very good test of the PZero tyres on the fast, smooth and iper-technical gravel Finnish Stages. Rally dominated by the Peugeot 206s, but Pirelli scores from 3rd to 6th place thanks, respectively, to Solberg, Sainz, Martin and Makinen. Bad luck for Colin McRae, stopped with 2 SSs to the end when his Ford Focus caught fire preventing him to score a brilliant 3rd place.

Germany 22-25 August Asphalt
The Fords of Colin McRae and Markko Martin finished fourth and sixth respectively with the Subaru of Tommi Makinen seventh. A good performance from the PZero asphalt range of tyres, especially the new RX that coped well with the wet concrete roads of the second day.

San Remo 20-22 September Asphalt
Another positive asphalt performance from the new RX tyre. In particular the new cover proved especially effective on the mixed dry/damp surfaces at the end of leg 2, enabling Petter Solberg to take two of his three fastest stage times to secure third place from Richard Burns. Fifth and eighth from Markko Martin and Colin McRae respectively.

New Zealand* 3-6 October Gravel
Australia* 1-3 November Gravel
Great Britain 17-19 November Gravel

* WRC Production Car World Championship (Group N) events