Rally of Great Britain

The Grand Finale in Great Britain! After 13 rounds over four continents the World Rally Championship reaches its climax on the gravel roads of Wales for the final contest (November 22-25). This traditional end of season event offers a very specific challenge thanks to the unpredictable weather. The event formerly known as the RAC Rally rarely offers us the kind of dry gravel that characterises the events in mid-season. More usually there is thick mud covering roads that vary between damp and very wet, while there is also the possibility of fog. The ambient temperature is usually low and can also lead to snow and ice, especially on the early morning Stages.

This unique range of possible weather and surface conditions imposes a great challenge on the tyre makers and the PZero gravel range for this event is designed for maximum versatility to cope with the variations of surface that can occur even over a single group of Stages.

Pirelli's performance in 2001 on this type of surface can be clearly seen from the 117 stages wins from 171 gravel Stages held so far this season, along with 4 overall wins on gravel events this year. The position in the championship is that 3 of the 4 drivers that can still win the title are using Pirelli tyres; Colin McRae (Ford), Richard Burns (Subaru) and Carlos Sainz (Ford) in positions 1, 3 and 4 respectively with Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi) the only other contender. In the Constructors' championship, Ford-Pirelli lies just behind Peugeot in a two-way race for the title on this final round.

The Pirelli tyre options for Britain are based on the K and KM tyre, respectively for hard and relatively clean surfaces or damp with mud and very wet. Additionally, in case of heavy snow, there is an emergency option of the S-pattern snow tyre, similar to the one used in Monte Carlo but without studs as the British regulations preclude this. As usual, all the Pirelli tyres will be fitted with the latest version of the EMI anti-deflation system.

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

Around 2000 PZero gravel tyres in two tread patterns (K and KM) both available in Pirelli's two softest compound options, 4 and 6, are available for the Rally of Great Britain, along with the S pattern snow tyre. This is an emergency option for the unpredictable weather on this specific event, hence the deviation from the usual rule demanding just two tread patterns. All are equipped with Pirelli's EMI anti-deflation system.

FOR HARD OR CLEAN SURFACES
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type A tyre for essentially hard surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6 (with evolutions)
Description Level 4 is for a dry surface and variable temperatures, level 6 is for damp or wet roads. Additionally there is a final evolution version for use where the surface is very soft or the temperature very low. All the K-pattern tyres are able to be additionally hand cut.

FOR SOFT OR VERY WET SURFACES
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for smooth surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6 (with evolutions)
Description The compound operation is much the same as for the K-pattern tyre. The compounds perform similarly in the same conditions and there is an evolution for especially wet surfaces or cold conditions.

EMERGENCY OPTION FOR SNOW
S (Size 135/90-16)
Type Tyre for snow covered stages
Compound options one
Description This tyre is designed to provide optimum traction and steering on Stage where there is a heavy snow coverage of greater than 60%.

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

THE PIRELLI TEAM FOR BRITAIN

3 Ford Focus RS McRae-Grist*, Sainz-Moya*
& Higgins-Thomas
4 Subaru Impreza WRC Burns-Reid*, Solberg-Mills*,
Martin-Park & Arai-Macneall
* Nominated to score manufacturers' championship points

plus other teams not regularly contesting the World Rally Championship.

OUR DRIVERS SAID

COLIN McRAE
I'm always confident going into my home event because I know it better than the rest and I can always go well there. It's not as difficult as it was in the past and the stages are generally faster and more flowing than they used to be but we'll have to see how well they stand up to being used twice. Pirelli has always been very competitive in typical British conditions so Nicky and I are feeling optimistic about our chances of winning both the rally and the championship.

CARLOS SAINZ
This will be a very tricky rally as always. Usually it is muddy but the Pirelli tyres should work well in all of these conditions. If it is icy, as sometimes happens, then the event can be even more difficult but Pirelli has the right range for all weather options.

RICHARD BURNS
I think everyone knows my record on this event over the past few years and so there's no reason not to be confident of winning. If that happens then I'll also end the season as World Champion so there's plenty of motivation. We know exactly what tyres to use in any of the possible conditions and we're not expecting any problems.

PETTER SOLBERG
It's a very good event and I think it will be a very good rally for me this year. I'm in a good frame of mind right now and everything is working well for me. My confidence is coming back with every event. We'll see what happens but if I get a clear run then I think the result could be quite exciting for me. I'm certainly looking to finish on the podium.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 EVENTS

Monte Carlo 19-21 January Asphalt/snow/ice
A great start to the season for Pirelli in Monte Carlo with the Ford Focus RS of Colin McRae leading after the second leg before having to retire with a mechanical problem. The PZero range proved to be efficient, competitive and wear resistant on all surfaces including the traditional Monte Carlo asphalt/snow/ice mixture.

Sweden 9-11 February Snow/ice/gravel
The most stage wins but no victory - that was the result for Pirelli in Sweden. If it were not for the time spent off the road on the first day, either the Ford of Colin McRae or the Subaru of Richard Burns would most likely have emerged as the winner along with the other Ford of long-time leader Carlos Sainz. It was a superb performance by the new PZero tyres with their Italian-made studs.

Portugal 9-11 March Gravel
Carlos Sainz drives his Pirelli-equipped Ford very close to victory, leading with just one stage to go before being narrowly beaten by Makinen's Mitsubishi. 4th place (and first points of 2001) for Subaru's ace Burns. Positive performance for the PZero gravel range of tyres, always used in the KM6 option with varying level of hand cuts.

Catalunya 20-25 March Asphalt
Near summer temperatures drastically altered the technical challenge while the situation was also affected by technical problems for both Ford and Subaru on day 1. The PZero tyre range performed well but these problems ensured the results were inconclusive.

Argentina 4-6 May Gravel
Victory was secured for Pirelli with a dominant performance by the PZero gravel range of tyres that won all but 4 of the 21 stages. Colin McRae brought the first win for the Pirelli-Ford partnership ahead of Subaru driver Richard Burns and an injured but still impressive Carlos Sainz (Ford-Pirelli). This was a major result for the K and KM pattern tyres.

Cyprus 1-3 June Gravel
Once more the PZero range of gravel tyres dominated the first four places on the rally with Colin McRae (Ford-Pirelli) taking his 2nd win in a row from Burns (Subaru-Pirelli). Carlos Sainz's Ford finished third ahead of Toshihiro Arai's Subaru. This was a major result for the XR2 tyres used on every stage of the event to secure this top performance.

Acropolis 15-17 June Gravel
Another gravel victory for Pirelli and the third win in succession for the Ford Focus WRC of Colin McRae and Nicky Grist. The Pirelli PZero range's domination was almost total, winning all but one of the stages, with Petter Solberg's Subaru taking second and the Ford of Francois Delecour fourth. Only late mechanical problems for Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz denied them podium places.

Safari 20-22 July Gravel
Retirement from the contest by the Subarus of Richard Burns (suspension), the Fords of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz (transmission and engine respectively). On the final day the Subaru of Petter Solberg (wheel bearing) retired to leave Pirelli with only the 4th placed Ford of Francois Delecour despite winning 7 of 12 stages. Group N saw another dominant performance with Gabriel Pozzo taking 6th overall.

Finland 24-26 August Gravel
The Peugeot of Marcus Gronholm dominated the contest but, thanks to a late technical problem that befell his team-mate Harri Rovanpera, Richard Burns (Subaru) and Colin McRae (Ford), claimed podium places respectively. Ford-Pirelli now shares the lead in the World Manufacturers' Championship. Group N was won by Marcos Ligato while second placed Gabriel Pozzo extended his series lead.

New Zealand 21-23 September Gravel
A new chapter in Pirelli's continually successful gravel performance saw Richard Burns (Subaru) secure a hard-fought win from Colin McRae (Ford) with his team-mate Carlos Sainz fourth. Thanks to this result, Ford leads the Manufacturers' championship while McRae is tied with Tommi Makinen at the head of the drivers' title race.

San Remo 5-7 October Asphalt
The return to asphalt from gravel brought positive results for both performance and reliability with the PZero range proving especially competitive on the wet final stages where both Carlos Sainz (fourth overall) and Francois Delecour took stage victories. The result saw Colin McRae retain his share of the overall championship lead and Ford extend its advantage in the manufacturers' series. Gabriel Pozzo was confirmed as Pirelli's seventh consecutive Group N World Champion.

Corsica 19-21 October Asphalt
Once again asphalt provided a tough test for everyone and, as in San Remo, did little to change the championship situation. Day one problems prevented Colin McRae (Ford) and Richard Burns (Subaru) from challenging for the lead but Burns finished 4th ahead of his team mates in 5th and 6th. Six drivers can still win the title, including McRae and Carlos Sainz from Ford and Burns from Subaru. Ford continues to lead the manufacturers championship.

Australia 1-4 November Gravel
The competition was compromised by Colin McRae's late arrival to choose his start position for day two and having to run first on the road. In the end he was able to finish no higher than fifth but still opened up a two-point lead in the championship. Second place fell to Richard Burns who drove tactically on the final day to ensure a chance of the championship title.

Great Britain 22-25 November Gravel