RALLY LATVIA, SOFT SCORPION TYRE THE FIRST CHOICE

Fast and slippery gravel roads are the main challenge on this rally

All the champions on parade for Latvia’s debut on the world stage

Testoni: “It’s easy to make mistakes on these roads that are not well known to everyone, but by now, the drivers are familiar with the new gravel tyres and know how to get the most out of them”

After being well received as a round of the European FIAERC championship, next weekend, Rally Latvia makes its debut as a round of the World Championship with a more than respectable entry list. Among those taking part are Sebastien Ogier, as well as reigning world champion, Kalle Rovanpera, off the back of his win in Poland and the Toyota pair of Katsuta Takamoto and Elfyn Evans. For Hyundai, Esapekka Lappi is joining Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak, currently first and third in the standings which could yet throw up some surprises. Ford is also entering three drivers, namely Adrien Fourmaux, Gregoire Munster and Martins Sesks. In WRC2, notable entries include Nikolay  Gryazin and Oliver Solberg, both of whom have won several times on Lithuanian soil, as well as Gus Greensmith and Sami Pajari.

THE CHALLENGE
Only a handful of the WRC1 crews entered have experience of the characteristics of a rally that is representative of all those held in the Baltic region, namely high speed gravel roads with low grip, combined with twisty technical sections along with many jumps and crests that provide a stern test for tyres and cars. Added to this is the uncertainty about the weather and the fact the roads get more slippery because of overnight dew. While Saturday is going to be the longest day, on Friday, the absence of a midway service point will further complicate matters.

Accompanying the drivers in Latvia, the new generation soft compound Scorpion KX WRC SB is the prime tyre, featuring a revised construction which ensures increased durability and resistance compared to its previous iteration, while maintaining the same level of performance. The option tyre is the hard compound Scorpion KX WRC HB, recommended for the more abrasive surfaces and longer stages.

PIRELLI QUOTE
Terenzio Testoni, rally activity manager: “On all rallies, mistakes incur a cost and make the difference, but in an event such as this one in Latvia, it’s much easier to make a mistake because of the high speeds and the slippery surface. Even if this is the first time that Rally Latvia has appeared on the WRC calendar and will be new to many drivers, it is well known to Pirelli. On these same roads, we have won several times in the FIAERC European Championship and, at least in theory, there’s a limit to the surprises it can provide. In any case, all the crews are now fully familiar with the new Scorpions and are capable of getting the most out of them in any situation, even challenging ones like these.”

THE PIRELLI TYRES IN LATVIA
As per the regulations, each crew can use 28 of the prime and 8 of the option tyres. The number of options can be increased to 12 if the crew so wish, which reduces the number of primes by 4.

As for the other categories, in Latvia, the Rally2 cars will have available the Scorpion K6B (soft) and the new K4C (hard), while the Rally3 cars will run the K6A (soft) and the K4A (hard). For these categories, the allocation is 26 and 8 for the prime and option respectively. Crews can increase the number of the latter to 12, reducing the number of the prime by 4.