Rally Argentina

The only World Rally Championship round to take place on the American continent is officially a smooth gravel event. However, the 2002 Argentina Rally (May 17-19) will doubtless be an event of many faces thanks to the big variations of conditions found on the Special Stages.

The road surface is made of gravel but it is not hard like in Cyprus. It is nearly always sandy and therefore quite slippery, but beneath the top layer of compacted sand lie rocks that are dragged up by the passing of each car. This, coupled with the rule that sees the position order reversed for the second and third Legs, can present tyre problems. Also the weather conditions will play their part. May in Argentina sees the approach of winter and this usually brings cold and frosty mornings before warm sunshine in late afternoon as drivers tackle some of the highest altitude Stages in the championship.

" After three wins from the past three Argentina rallies we know what to expect here," explains Pirelli Rally Manager Fiorenzo Brivio. " Mostly we expect to use our KM tyre in its softest compound and possibly with hand cutting to get the maximum grip from the conditions. The Stages can be quite tricky, especially the Condor and Giulio Cesare stages, where the climbs and descents are both severe and twisty and the surface of the plateau is quite fast. You have to design tyres that can cope with this tricky combination in one Stage."

Pirelli returns to Argentina after three successive wins there; with Subaru in 1999 and 2000 and with Ford last year. Also fresh in the memory is last month's Cyprus Rally where, despite having to accept defeat thanks to Colin McRae's two accidents on the final morning, Pirelli's PZero gravel tyres won 17 of the 19 stages with both Ford and Subaru.


Rocks And Sand
The constant development process has led to specific tyre options being made for the roads of Argentina where the surface can be smooth, compact sand, or loose and rough with the presence of rocks just below the surface. Around 2000 tyres in two tread patterns (K and KM, both specifically designed for this event) comprise the PZero range of tyres present in Argentina, Ford and Subaru choosing the same tread patterns. All are equipped with Pirelli's EMI anti-deflation system.

For Hard Or Rocky Surfaces
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type A tyre for essentially hard surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6
Description Level 4 is for dry roads and level 6 for damp or muddy conditions especially if additionally hand cut.

For Dry To Damp/Wet Surfaces
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for all conditions
Compound options 2, 4 and 6
Description This tyre is designed for surfaces typical to Rally Argentina where there is loose or compacted sand. Level six, for low temperatures and for damp or wet surfaces, is likely to be the base choice for the event. Step 4 is for dry or warm surfaces and step two is for very high temperatures (rare at this time of year).

NOTE: The higher the compound number the softer the tyre.

The Pirelli Team For Argentina
3 Ford Focus RS McRae-Grist, Sainz-Moya & Martin-Park
2 Subaru Impreza WRC Makinen-Lindstrom, Solberg-Mills
1 Subaru Impreza GroupN Arai
7 Mitsubishi Lancer GroupN Trelles, Ferreyros, Valousek, Baldini, Ligato, Perez Campanc & Manfrinato

plus other teams not regularly contesting the World Rally Championship.

Pirelli's Argentina Record
Three wins in the past three years has underlined Pirelli's current form on the only South American round of the championship. Indeed last year's win for Colin McRae was so dominant that Pirelli claimed the top three places on the podium with Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz tracking McRae across the line. Two years earlier Juha Kankkunen edged out team mate Richard Burns on the final stage but Burns got his crushing revenge just a year later.

Recent winners
1990 Miki Biasion/Tiziano Siviero (Lancia Delta Integrale)
1991 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica GT-Four)
1992 Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli (Lancia Delta Integrale)
1993 Juha Kankkunen/Nicky Grist (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1994 Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1995* Jorge Recalde/Martin Christie (Lancia Delta Integrale)
1996 Tommi Makinen/Seppo Harjanne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1997 Tommi Makinen/Seppo Harjanne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1998 Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1999 Juha Kankkunen/Juha Repo (Subaru Impreza WRC99)
2000 Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Ford Focus WRC2000)
2001 Colin McRae/Nicky Grist (Ford Focus RS WRC)
*W2L event only

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.

Ciprus * 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

Acropolis 14-16 June Gravel

Safari * 11-14 July Gravel

Finland * 8-11 August Gravel

Germany 22-25 August Asphalt

San Remo 20-22 September Asphalt

New Zealand * 3-6 October Gravel

Australia * 1-3 November Gravel

Great Britain 15-17 November Gravel

* WRC Production Car World Championship (Group N) events