Pirelli packs out podium in New Zealand

Auckland (NZ), 10 April 2005 - Two Pirelli-equipped cars have finished on the podium of the all-gravel Rally New Zealand, round four of the World Rally Championship. Peugeot driver Marcus Gronholm and Subaru's Petter Solberg, both running on Pirelli tyres, enjoyed a titanic battle over all three days of the antipodean event to claim second and third places respectively behind rally winner Sebastien Loeb. An eighth place for Mitsubishi driver Gigi means that all three of Pirelli's partner teams have scored points on this highly demanding rally, which tests the performance of drivers and tyres to the limit. Pirelli-equipped drivers won 12 out of the 20 stages, while six Pirelli runners finished in the top 10. New Zealand's fast and flowing stages are characterized by a layer of loose gravel covering a hard surface. These stages are rapidly swept 'clean', making the second run through the stages in the afternoon an entirely different experience. Tyre choice is crucial in order to take advantage of the changing situation and weather, so the Pirelli runners used a wide range of rubber in New Zealand. The KP tyre, which made a winning debut in New Zealand, was the base cover but the Pirelli drivers also used the KM (for damper surfaces) and the K (for the harder surfaces of the final day). Peugeot's drivers used the XR tyre for the first time in the New Zealand, designed for hard surfaces with little loose gravel. The result means that Petter Solberg maintains the lead of the driver's championship, while Peugeot continues to head the manufacturers' series. Weather conditions over the three days were unexpectedly hot and sunny, with temperatures over 25 degrees centigrade. This frequently gave way to overnight rain, which made the opening stages of each leg damp. Fiorenzo Brivio, Pirelli's Rally Manager, commented: " I'd like to congratulate all our drivers who did a fantastic job under difficult conditions, and also the rally winner Sebastien Loeb. The biggest problem we faced was the unusually warm weather, which we could not have predicted at the time when the rules required us to nominate the tyres for this event. Unfortunately, our tyres were sometimes too soft for the conditions, but this did not prevent usfrom having two cars on the podium and keeping the lead of both World Championships." Rally New Zealand (Round 4/16) - Final classification 1 Loeb-Elena Citroen Xsara WRC 3h34m51.6s 2 Gronholm-Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC +49.8s 3 Solberg-Mills Subaru Impreza WRC +1m08.7s 4 Duval-Prevot Citroen Xsara WRC +2m06.3s 5 Martin-Park Peugeot 307 WRC +3m09.1s 6 Gardemeister-Honkanen Ford Focus WRC +3m16.3s 7 Atkinson-Macneall Subaru Impreza WRC +4m37.2s 8 Galli-d'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +6m50.5s 9 Rovanpera-Pietilainen Mitsubishi Lancer WRC +7m44.6s 10 Stohl-Minor Citroen Xsara WRC +8m15.5s Next round: Rally d'Italia-Sardinia, 29 April-1 May Drivers Championship: 1 Solberg 26; 2 Loeb 25; 3 Martin 23; 4 Gronholm 20; 5 Gardemeister 20; 6 Rovanpera 11; 7 Panizzi 7; 8 Duval 5 Constructors Championship: 1 Peugeot 43; 2 Citroen 31; 3 Subaru 28; 4 Ford 26; 5 Mitsubishi 24; 6 Skoda 4 More information and photographs on Pirelli's motor sport activities: www.pirellicompetizioni.com