Rally Great Britain

From early summer in Australia the World Rally Championship crosses the globe once more for the season finale amid early winter in Britain (November 14-17). As with so many rounds of the championship, Rally GB is another event that has changed significantly in recent seasons. No longer a journey through Britain's varied rally areas, the event is now based solely in south Wales where the road surface is almost guaranteed to be muddy.
 

Although based further south than in the 'classic' years of the event, there is still a small risk of snow and ice while early morning starts mean that fog can also be a hazard. This is also one of the few rounds of the championship where many Stages are run in the dark thanks to short daylight hours.

'Despite the time of year bringing the mixture of surfaces from damp through to snow, this is still quite a fast gravel rally,' says Pirelli rally manager Fiorenzo Brivio. 'You will see a compound range at the softest end of the scale as temperatures are usually close to zero degrees. The tread patterns will be K and KM and for this event, unusually, we will also expect to hand cut the KM tyre if the surface becomes especially muddy. Because of the risk of snow, the FIA allows us to have an emergency snow tyre that is the same as the one we use in Monte Carlo but without studs as this is not permitted in Britain."

The roads where the rally runs have a hard base but the surface is covered with very sharp rocks that can easily slice open the sidewalls of a tyre like a knife. The puncture risk in Wales is very high and Pirelli will rely heavily on the performance of the EMI anti-deflation inserts.

Pirelli comes to Britain with seven wins in the last 11 WRC events here and on the back of its eighth consecutive Group N championship title, clinched by Malaysia's Karamjit Singh in Australia. This success was Pirelli's 21st major title in the 29 seasons since the World Rally Championship began in 1973.

Mud, Mud Glorious Mud!

The Special Stages of south Wales are fast but, at this time of year, they will be coated with mud. For this type of surface (and to cope with the slim possibility of snow and ice), Pirelli will make available three types of tyre: the familiar KM and K pattern gravel tyres and the emergency S-pattern snow tyre. The latter is the same as taken to the Monte Carlo Rally but without studs according to local regulations. All will be fitted with Pirelli's EMI anti-deflation system.

FOR MUDDY SURFACES
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for loose gravel or muddy surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6 (all with evolutions)
Description This is the tyre that will be used for most of the rally. It can be additionally hand cut to further improve traction when the mud is at its worst.

FOR HARD AND CLEAN SURFACES
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type A tyre for hard or dry surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6 (all with evolutions)
Description Used when the surface is clean and dry. Again it can be hand cut to alter its performance capabilities.

EMERGENCY OPTION FOR SNOW
S (Size 135/90-16)
Type Tyre for snow covered stages
Compound options One, very soft and without studs.
Description This tyre is designed to provide optimum traction and steering on stage where there is a heavy snow coverage of greater than 70%.

NOTE The higher the compound number the softer the tyre.

 

THE PIRELLI SQUAD FOR BRITAIN

2 Subaru Impreza WRC Makinen-Lindstrm* , Solberg-Mills*
4 Ford Focus RS Sainz-Moya*, McRae-Ringer*,
Martin-Park* & Higgins-Thomas

Plus other cars of teams not regularly engaged in the World Rally Championship

* Registered for Manufacturers' Championship points

PIRELLI'S RALLY GB RECORD

Normally Pirelli wouldn't be celebrating third place on a rally but last year's Rally GB was the exception. After Colin McRae and Tommi Makinen retired in a dramatic opening day, Richard Burns was left to drive a tactical rally in order to secure his first World Championship title and third place was more than enough to do the job for Burns, Subaru and Pirelli. The World Championship was a far bigger prize than a hat-trick of wins for Burns on this event. From 1994-1997 McRae was unbeaten at WRC level on this event, his 1994 win the first for a British driver since 1976 and his 1995 success marking Britain's first ever World Champion driver. With title season wins from Carlos Sainz in both 1990 and 1992, this is a rally that Pirelli enjoys winning!

Recent winners
1990 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica GT-Four)
1991 Juha Kankkunen/Juha Piironen (Lancia Delta Integrale)
1992 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1993 Juha Kankkunen/Nicky Grist (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1994 Colin McRae/Derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555)
1995 Colin McRae/Derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555)
1996* Armin Schwarz/Denis Giraudet (Toyota Celica GT-Four)
1997 Colin McRae/Nicky Grist (Subaru Impreza WRC97)
1998 Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1999 Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Subaru Impreza WRC99)
2000 Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Subaru Impreza WRC2000)
2001 Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Peugeot 206 WRC)

*W2L event only

Contact website: www.nq-rally-gb.co.uk

AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 EVENTS

Monte Carlo 17-20 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 PZero tyres in the top six places. The rally was run almost entirely without snow and saw a superb result for the RS tyrein 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 earely snow turned quickly to 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 step 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 roads 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 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 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.

Cyprus* 19-21 April Gravel
The PZero gravel range dominated the stage times in Cyprus, winning 17 of the 19 stages and with every one of the Pirelli works 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
The result swung comprehensively Pirelli's way with a 1-2-3-4 success following the exclusions of both leading Peugeots, forst of Gronholm and then of Burns. Sainz (Ford) took his first win for two years but the event could just as easily have been won by Makinen (Subaru) until he crashed while battling for victory with Gronholm on the final morning. Another good performance by the KM pattern PZero tyres in all conditions.

Acropolis 14-16 June Gravel
Four PZero equipped cars ended the rally in the top six places with outright victory going to Colin McRae with his Ford-Pirelli team mate Carlos Sainz taking third, Petter Solberg (Subaru-Pirelli) fifth and early leader Markko martin (Ford-Pirelli) sixth. It was another demonstration of the XR tyres, used almost exclusively on this event.

Safari* 11-14 July Gravel
The third gravel event win in a row, and the fourth of 2002 for the PZero tyres. Pirelli led from start to finish, first with Makinen (who retired with a mechanical problem) and then with McRae who completed his 25th WRC victory without a single puncture. This was a famous victory for the XR tyre that was used on every stage except one without the EMI anti-deflation system.

Finland* 8-11 August Gravel
A triumph of determination on the most technically demanding event for drivers saw four Pirelli crews finish in the points. Petter Solberg (Subaru) claimed a podium position ahead of Ford's Carlos Sainz and Markko Martin after Colin McRae was denied that position with a fire two stages from the finish. Pirelli also took first and third in the FIA Group N points, leaving Karamjit Singh (Proton) poised to clinch the title at the next round in New Zealand.

Germany 22-25 August Gravel
The Fords of Colin McRae and Markko Martin finished fourth and sixth respectively with the Subaru of Tommi Makinen seventh. A good performance from the PZero asphalt range of tyres, especially the new RX that coped well with the wet concrete roads of the second day.

Italy 20-22 September Asphalt
Another positive asphalt performance from the new RX tyre. In particular the new cover proved especially effective on the mixed dry/damp surfaces at the end of leg 2, enabling Petter Solberg to take two of his three fastest stage times to secure third place from Richard Burns. Fifth and eighth from Markko Martin and Colin McRae respectively.

New Zealand* 3-6 October Gravel
The K and KM tyres again offered consistent top performance, enabling Tommi Makinen (Subaru) to finish the event in third place behind the Peugeots and ahead of Carlos Sainz's Ford. Petter Solberg (Subaru) was denied a possible second place when he suffered engine failure on the penultimate stage.

Australia* 1-3 November Gravel
One again Peugeot proved to be uncatchable but behind the French cars the Subaru-Pirelli of Petter Solberg mounted a strong challenge before he made a wrong tyre choice for the final two stages. He finished third ahead of the Fords of Carlos Sainz and Markko Martin. In the production Car World Championship finale, Karamjit Singh (Proton) brought Pirelli's eighth consecutive title.

Great Britain 14-17 November Gravel

* Qualifying rounds of the Group N World Championship