Pirelli at the Acropolis Rally
Milan, June 3rd, 1999 - The Acropolis Rally is here again, together with the toughest special stages in the entire World Rally Championship. Four days of rallying, three legs, all in the north of the town chosen for the new rally headquarters: Agii Theodori, west of Athens towards the Peloponnese. This will be the scene for the ninth round of the World Rally Championship which takes place from Sunday 6th to Wednesday 9th June.
Pirelli arrives in Greece after its superb victory two weeks ago on the gravel roads of Argentina, where the tyre structural innovations and the latest evolution version of the EMI anti-deflation system helped give a major boost to the competitiveness of the Subaru Impreza Wrc. The PZero range of gravel tyres for the Acropolis revolves mainly around the search for maximum resistance, due to the proverbial harshness of the Greek roads. Taking into account the considerable experience, often successful, accumulated on the Greek special stages, Pirelli has been preparing for the Acropolis Rally with its two official teams, Subaru and Seat. Intensive testing on gravel has led to a range of tyres being prepared for the Acropolis, which is full of innovations on a compound and structural level, as well as to the confirmation of the advanced EMI anti-deflation system which gave excellent results in South America.
Two Subaru Impreza Wrc, on Pirelli tyres, have been entered for the Greek event, for Burns-Reid and Argentina winners Kankkunen-Repo. There will also be two Seat Cordoba Wrc-Pirelli for Liatti-Cassina and Rovanpera-Pietilainen. In addition, Pirelli will also be supplying tyres to the Mitsubishi GrN of three-times world champion Gustavo Trelles from Uruguay, the Omani driver Hamed Al Wahaibi and Manfred Stohl from Austria.
THE ACROPOLIS IN DETAIL
Legs 3
Special Stages 21
Tyre Changes 10
Stage Distance (kms) 413.0
Total Distance (kms) 1400.9
WHEN THE GOING GETS THOUGH...
On the difficult and harsh Greek gravel terrain, Pirelli will be present with a PZero range of more than 2000 tyres, aimed chiefly at providing maximum resistance for the high speeds reached in the stages. This characteristic of the Acropolis Rally is particularly critical due to the extremely hard road surfaces. But the search for maximum reliability together with high-level performance is not limited to the characteristics of the tyres, which will be fitted (for the official teams) with the latest 'evolution' version of the EMI anti-deflation system for gravel tyres that proved its worth on its debut event at Rally Argentina. New, revolutionary materials and a different technology characterise the new EMI gravel tyres, which now guarantee greater stability at increased temperatures and stress, as well as better resistance at higher speeds.
This is the PZero range of gravel tyres for the Acropolis with relative sizes and characteristics:
K 205/65-15 size
Two different configurations: K20, two different 'evolution' versions with hard compound, ideal for dry surfaces and high working temperatures, can be further grooved for sandy surfaces; K40, intermediate compound for mixed surfaces, can be grooved for sandy or damp-wet surfaces.
KC 205/65-15 size
Wide tread and 'fuller' pattern than K tyre. Ideal for use on hard, 'dirty' road surfaces. Together with structural innovation seen in Argentina on the KM tyre, the KC will be available in two different compounds: level 2 and level 3, respectively harder and not so hard.
XR 225/55-15 size
Ideal on extremely hard and 'clean' surfaces: maximum performance in acceleration, cornering and braking. Same structural innovation as for the KC tyre. Two compound 'steps' available: level 2 and level 3, respectively harder and softer.