Pirelli At The Swedish Rally

Milan, February 8, 2000 - The Monte Carlo Rally is now recent history, as are the fine results of the Pirelli-equipped drivers including the 'peak' performances of Richard Burns (Subaru Impreza WRC99) who was an early leader of the rally and that of his team mate Juha Kankkunen on the famous special stage of Sisteron thanks to our revolutionary new tyre developments. Monte Carlo is now in the past, however, and we now turn our attention to the Swedish Rally (February 10-13) which is based close to Karlstad as usual. The World Rally Championship is already well into its early hectic pace which, in the next two months, will see action on four very different events.

Until a few years ago the Swedish Rally always meant a lot of snow and ice. However changes in the global weather patterns towards the end of the last century have affected many events in the World Rally Championship. The characteristics of the Swedish Rally are now very fast special stages without thick snow but with hard-packed ice and gravel. Because of this the technical challenge, especially on the tyre front, has been made even more complex.

Pirelli has not won in Sweden since February 1997 when victory came from Kenneth Eriksson (Subaru). This year, however, Pirelli has very high expectations thanks to the extremely high level of competitiveness shown by both Subaru and SEAT in Monte Carlo where the versatility shown by the Pirelli PZero range of tyres was confirmed by enthusiastic comments made by the drivers.

Pirelli will be in Sweden with a PZero range comprising around 1500 tyres but with just two tread patterns in accordance with the new technical regulations approved by the FIA for all gravel rallies (with the exception of the Safari Rally in Kenya) this year. The PZero range for Sweden, always with studs on every stage, is the fruit of a long exercise in study and evolution throughout the winter test faced by Subaru and SEAT in the past few months.

JUST TWO TREADS FOR SWEDEN

About 1500 of the latest evolution PZero tyres will be sent to Sweden following the results of the winter tests in Northern Europe. All will be fitted with the latest evolution of the EMI anti-deflation system and it is these weapons with which Pirelli will attack the second event of the 2000 World Rally Championship.

The new technical regulations for 2000 say that each team can have on every gravel event (with the exception of the Safari Rally) a range of tyres with just two tread patterns registered before each event with the FIA. Within these patterns the choice of compound (and in the case of Sweden, the studs) is completely free.

Here are the Pirelli tyre choices for Sweden with a description of their technical characteristics:

FOR SNOW AND FROZEN GRAVEL

J(Size 145/85-16)

Type: Tyre for ice and snow or frozen gravel
Compound options 2: Base and Evolution
Description: Tyre for little or no snow or for conditions of snow and ice. Asymmetric tread design. Two types of studs are available; long for snow and ice, short for frozen gravel. Normally this will be the base tyre for this event.

FOR HEAVY AND FRESH SNOW

S(Size 135/90-16)

Type: Tyre for fresh snow and/or heavy snow
Compound options: Single compound
Description: A very narrow tyre for maximum penetration and directional stability. Symmetrical tread design and with a single, long, stud choice available.

THE PIRELLI TEAM IN SWEDEN

2 Subaru Impreza WRCBurns-Reid and Kankkunen-Repo

3 SEAT Cordoba WRC Auriol-Giraudet, Gardemeister-Lukander and Rovanpera-Pietilainen

2 Mitsubishi Lancer Gr.NSthl and Galli

Other Pirelli-equipped teams will also be contesting the rally

OUR DRIVERS SAY THAT...

RICHARD BURNS

Our early winter testing was carried out quite a long time ago and we've already found some even better things with the car and the tyres since then. We've got another test right before the recce starts so we'll have more up to date knowledge of the road conditions and our potential after that. Our performance in Monte Carlo showed that we've made big steps forward for 2000.

JUHA KANKKUNEN

I felt really confident after our first winter test because I know we have a much better car and tyre package than last year. Of course we don't know what improvements our rivals have made but, from what other drivers told me in Monte Carlo, I think we have good reason to be confident. The weather in Sweden can change completely in just one day. Personally I would prefer that the rally is in full snow but if it is a mixture of ice and gravel we can be even more competitive.

DIDIER AURIOL

Unlike Toni I haven't had a chance to drive the SEAT in snow yet. I will only get the chance just before the recce starts so it's hard to say how confident I feel about Sweden at the moment. However, I think it would be best for me if it snows like hell for two days before the rally. For me it's much more fun to drive when the snow is thick and we have snow banks to bounce the car off.

TONI GARDEMEISTER

For sure we have made big improvements since last season. If there is no snow on the roads and just ice and gravel then everyone's biggest problem will be to keep the studs in the tyres. I would like to find some small snow banks to help keep the car on the road. Also very icy stages and a temperature between zero and five degrees below freezing would be perfect. If there is a lot of new snow then the roads are so slippery that it's like aquaplaning on ice. After Monte Carlo I am feeling confident with the car and the tyres and I'm sure we can get another good result in Sweden.

13 MORE ROUNDS TO... THE END OF THE WORLD

Monte Carlo20-22 JanuaryAsphalt/snow/ice

Richard Burns (Subaru-Pirelli) was in second place and chasing a possible victory when his car failed to start the second day. Juha Kankkunen (Subaru-Pirelli) finished third after setting a stunning fastest time on Sisteron while SEAT-Pirelli's young Finn Toni Gardemeister was acclaimed as a star of the rally in fourth.

Sweden10-13 FebruarySnow/ice/gravel

Safari24-27 FebruaryGravel

Portugal16-19 MarchGravel

Catalunya30 March-2 AprilAsphalt

Argentina11-14 MayGravel

Acropolis8-11 JuneGravel

New Zealand 13-16 JulyGravel

Finland17-20 AugustGravel

China7-10 SeptemberGravel

Corsica28 September-1 OctoberAsphalt

San Remo12-15 October Asphalt

Australia9-12 NovemberGravel

Great Britain 23-26 NovemberGravel