Rally of Mexico

Milan , 2 March 2004 - Mexico and the World Rally Championship meet for the first time from 12 to 14 March to play out the third world title event of the 2004 season . Some teams and drivers have already made contact with the rally's central American special stages: among them Pirelli , which has competed over them twice and last year won with the Mitsubishi Group N driven by Argentinian Marco s Ligato. The Mexican special stages are of the medium-fast type over generally compacted gravel surfaces, and are not particularly slippery . Given the season of the year, the risk of rain is not especially high. The temperatures at this time are fairly high and everything seems to contribute to a rather stable weather picture. So it looks like a rally is on the cards that is fairly true to the expected technical trend of much of the 2004 world championship: fast, gravel surfaces , without much risk of mud. "We expect almost summer temperatures," says Fiorenzo Brivio, head of Pirelli's rally operations, "so our PZero range will be geared to taking on those conditions, with the fundamental tyre in step 2 and a hard compound. The tread patterns are once more the tried and tested K and KM, all with evolutions in both structure and mix. The K , which has been designed for the more compacted and cleaner unmade surfaces, will be the base' tread pattern for the rally and could be further cut by hand in softer compounds ( step 4+) for damp or wet surfaces, or for lower than expected temperatures. The same goes for the KM , which we will use on looser terrain. Overall, one can define the Rally of Mexico as an event that is similar to those of Argentina and New Zealand, where our tyres have always gone well" . The Rally of New Zealand, which will be this year's fourth world championship round, was not mentioned by chance. For that event, which is so favourable to the PZero range, a new Pirelli weapon will make its debut in the rough: the tread pattern, designated KP, which incorporates all of the latest technical developments and evolutions of the PZero range for dirt stages. A friendly kind of surface to Pirelli, on which the company achieved three of its four 2003 victories, taking Petter Solberg and Phil Mills to the World Drivers' Crown. Fast, Compacted Earth On average, Mexico 's special stages are fast and over compacted earth. For that kind of surface, Pirelli will field its well-tried types of dirt stage tread patterns, KM and K: as always, they will be equipped with the EMI anti-deflation system. The following are the technical characteristics of the P Zero range for Mexico : For The Looser Surfaces KM (Size 205/65-15) Step available 2 and 4+ (with all the latest developments) Description For use on the looser and/or slipperier stages. Step 2 is the base tyre for expected rally conditions. Step 4+ (the softer compound) for damp to wet surfaces. Can be hand cut for mud. For The More Compacted Surfaces K (Size 205/65-15) Step available 2 and 4+ (with all the latest developments) Dscription For special stages with the harder and cleaner or dry surfaces. Step 2 base tyre for the expected rally conditions. Step 4+ (the softest compound) for damp to wet surfaces. Can be hand cut to guarantee maximum traction and grip. NOTE : the higher the compound number, the softer the tyre. The Pirelli Team for Mexico 2 Subaru Impreza WRC2004 Solberg/Mills* and Hirvonen-Lehtinen* 5 Subaru Impreza Gr. N A. McRae, Arai, Higgins, Ligato, Recordati 6 Mitsubishi Lancer Gr. N Sol, Sohlberg, Stohl, Paasonen, Singh, Al-Attiyah Plus the cars of other teams, which do not compete for the PCWRC on a regular basis. * = Eligible for world constructors' championship points