Two time world champion Miki Biasion will debut the new tyre

At the Legend event, all the most iconic cars from rallying’s past will sport the Long P logo

As usual, Pirelli is actively involved in Rallylegend in San Marino, not only because it is the exclusive fitment for the most iconic cars that have contributed to the history of rallying, as well as for 90% of the cars entered, but because, as it does every year, it comes up with something new and exciting for the event. Last year, it was a Pirelli initiative that saw the R1 WRC cars rumble through the streets of the Republic and this year, it is revealing for the very first time a new size of P7 Corsa Classic, to complete the very comprehensive and unique Pirelli range for classic rally cars. Putting the new tyre through its paces on its debut will be the two time world champion, Miki Biasion who, together with Pirelli’s Rally Activity manager, Terenzio Testoni, will go through its features.

The P7 Corsa Classic in the new 185/50-R15 size is destined for historic two-wheel drive J2 1600 Group A category cars, built up to the start of the Nineties, for which the regulations require a maximum size of 7.5 inches, such as the Opel Corsa GSi, the Peugeot 205 GTi, the Toyota Civic and Corolla, the Alfa 33, the Ford Escort XR3, Fiesta XR3 and Fiat Uno 70. As with all tyres in the Corsa Classic range, the new size also combines two elements that make it stand out: internal construction and tread that use latest generation materials to ensure performance, as well as safety parameters that employ the very latest technologies, all combined with a sidewall that stays faithful to the look of the original.

“With this new size, our classic range, already unique in the world, increases from 26 to 29 different specifications,” explains Testoni. “Like this, we can cover all Group A cars up to the early Nineties, especially the 1600cc class, following on from solutions for the 1300s and 2000s.” At the moment, dry tyre versions are available in the medium D5 and soft D7 compounds in addition to the wet W7.

In fact, alongside the historic models participating in Rallylegend there will also be a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and a Hyundai i20 Coupe Rally1, two cars arriving from the currrent World Rally Championship for which P Lunga is the sole supplier. Driving them in the Parades and for some spectacular hot laps will be Jari-Matti Latvala, team principal of Toyota Gazoo - the team that was crowned World Constructors' Champion at the beginning of the month in Chile -, Lorenzo Bertelli, and Dani Sordo, driver of Team Hyundai, respectively. 

Completing the parterre of past and present stars who will meet and often compete at Rallylegend will be Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion, who will take part in the parade, Jimmy McRae, multiple Motocross World Champion Tony Cairoli, World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, and former Formula One driver Rene Arnoux, to name but a few of those who have shared and still share a piece of their careers with Pirelli.

And that's not all: underlining Pirelli's central role in the San Marino event, the Power Stage at the Misano World Circuit, scheduled for Friday 13 October, will have the Milanese company as title sponsor.

"Rallylegend is now a well-established stage of prime importance for the rally movement, on which the past and present of this discipline come together," comments Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli's Rally Activity manager. “Supporting this event is almost an obligation for us, not only because of the quality of the participants and the number of fans it attracts, but also because we are protagonists in that history and in this present: just think that we have such a vast range that we can equip all modern and classic cars, bar none. Cars and champions entered in the Legend have in common our tyres and the collaboration with our technicians, who have often found innovative solutions for them that were later translated into technologies for road tyres.  Moreover, Legend is a real race as well as a show and it will be interesting as usual to see who wins".

For the occasion, Pirelli is fielding its entire asphalt range, both classic and contemporary. Modern cars will have the entire P Zero and Cinturato asphalt range at their disposal, while the historic cars will mount the P7 Corsa Classic in hard (D3), medium (D5), soft (D7) and wet (W7) versions. The tread pattern of the P7 Corsa Classic has been developed, in fact, with two designs: one for dry and one for wet, featuring the asymmetric pattern typical of Pirelli high performance tyres.