Pirelli WRC driver quotes

Leading lights from the World Rally Championship give their views on Pirelli‟s three-year tenure as the official tyre supplier to the WRC as follows: Ken Block (USA): “Coming from a national championship where you can do what you want with tyres, I have to say it‟s been great for me that there was a controlled tyre in the WRC and one that has worked very well for me. It‟s simpler because you don‟t have to think about tyre choice and when you‟re adjusting to a new car, new events and new roads. Pirelli makes great products and it‟s been great to have Pirelli as a partner.” Mikko Hirvonen (Finland): “When things were new, we were not sure how everything would work but everybody has been very impressed with how well everything has performed and how strong the tyres have been. Pirelli‟s saying is „power is nothing without control‟ and that sentence makes a lot of sense because you need good grip to control your car. The tyres perform very well on both surfaces and the compromise between performance and strength has been achieved very well with just two different types of tyre.” Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland): “I‟m really sorry the relationship is coming to an end after three very good years. Rallying is nothing without the tyres and Pirelli has done a very good job and made a lot of investment. They have also been supporting young drivers and giving them the opportunity to compete in the WRC. One of the things I remember best about Pirelli was the 15-inch studded Sottozero tyre for the snow rallies. They were very stable and very strong, even when there was gravel on the road causing damage to the studs.” Sébastien Loeb (France): “It‟s been a good three years and of course to be world champion for a seventh time in my home country with Pirelli tyres was very special. At the start it was expected there would be some troubles because of the regulation meant you could only have two types of tyre and no mousse but there were no punctures and lots of grip so no problems. I would say the soft-compound gravel tyre has been the best one but always the tyres complete long stages in a good condition.” Sébastien Ogier (France): “I‟ve driven for two years in a World Rally Car with Pirelli tyres and they have always been very strong, which is very important for the confidence of a driver. I was also using Pirelli tyres when I won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2008. I have claimed two WRC victories with Pirelli and both times were on gravel where the tyre is very good.” Petter Solberg (Norway): “Pirelli has meant a lot to me, not just recently but for my whole career. I won my first rally with them and I was world champion with them so it has been a very good and close relationship and we‟ve certainly had some fun working with a lot of nice people. Winning the world championship with Pirelli in 2003 was a big story and they were always helping me with cutting the tyres, tell me which tyres to use at which time and always supporting me 110 per cent. I have some very good memories.” Dani Sordo (Spain): “Grip is the most important thing about a rally car. You can have a really good set-up and engine but to transfer that power and performance to the floor you need a good tyre and the Pirelli has been a very good tyre with no punctures. We get a lot of support from the Pirelli engineers and it‟s very nice that it is always the same tyre for everybody – never a problem with the consistency.” Matthew Wilson (Great Britain): “You have to give big credit to Pirelli for everything they have done. Punctures have been very much of a rarity even without the mousse we used to have and the performance has been really good. Nobody has lost a rally because of a fault with the tyres. You get a massive amount of back-up from Pirelli – they‟ve done a brilliant job.”