Milan,October 2007 – Pirelli,
the World Rally Championship’s official tyre
supplier from 2008 to 2010, is working hard
to prepare the rubber for all the different
surfaces that competitors will face on next
year’s WRC from January onwards.
The Italian firm’s technicians
recently signed off the asphalt tyre, after
an intensive and detailed series of tests
with reigning Italian Rally Champion Paolo
Andreucci and the Bozian Racing Peugeot
307 WRC used by Gigi Galli on a number
of WRC events throughout 2006. The countries
visited by Pirelli and
Andreucci during the test programme included
France and Spain, before ending up in Sardinia.
This intense test cycle has enabled Pirelli to
come up with a tyre that has met with the
FIA’s seal of approval and will showcase
a number of innovative features.
In particular, the new tyre will not use
any so-called ‘heavy oils’ in its construction.
The elements in the tyre already conform
to environmental legislation set to come
into force in 2010. Below are some technical
details relating to the all-new Pirelli
PZero asphalt tyre for theWRC next
year.
Asphalt WRC tyre – technical
notes:
Tread
pattern
This is completely new, featuring a different
design philosophy to previous competition
tyres. Its form draws heavily upon Pirelli’s
Ultra High Performance road car products
that are currently on sale.
Just like high-performance
road car tyres, the new rally tyre moves
towards an asymmetric design, whilst taking
on board the lessons learned from the development
of the well-known RX tyre, which is particularly
efficient on dry asphalt. The external
shoulder of the new tyre is wider, giving
excellent levels of grip when the car is
learning into a corner, while the internal
part of the tyre features more prominent
grooves. These grooves enable the car to
work effectively in wet asphalt conditions,
even if there is a risk of aquaplaning.
The differences between
the new asphalt P Zero tyre and the existing
WRC rubber that has been produced to date
– generally consisting of specialised tyres
for either wet or dry conditions – now
begin to be clear.
The new World Championship asphalt tyre
is designed for use in both wet and dry conditions:
just like the tyres fitted to road cars.
For extremely wet asphalt conditions, drivers
will be able to ‘cut’ their own tyres in
order to guarantee the highest possible levels
of safety.
Profile
The profile of the new asphalt PZero
tyre has been designed to optimise its footprint,
even when a rally car is running with a high
camber set-up. It is also designed to manage
wear as effectively as possible, even in
extreme conditions like those seen on WRC
events.
Construction
The new tyre’s construction has
been strengthened even further (hence the
‘Extra Load’ nomenclature) compared to
the existing asphalt rubber, in order tominimize
the risk of punctures. This is vitally
important, as from 2008 the use of mousse
or any other anti-deflation device has
been outlawed.
The new tyre’s carcass is made up of the
latest and most innovative materials developed
by Pirelli’s technicians. Their goal was
to obtain maximum rigidity and progression,
whilst providing a tyre that was instantly
reactive and easy to drive. At the same time
the usual basic requirements had to be met
– such as minimum weight and maximum resistance
to lacerations.
A high-grade circumferential belt has also
been incorporated within the structure to
ensure that the tyre maintains its shape
even at high speeds.
Compounds
The tyre regulations stipulated
by the FIA from 2008-2010 allow for only
two compounds, which need to be able to
cope with an extremely wide range of conditions.
1) A soft tyre designed
for damp or wet road conditions, or for
dry conditions and smooth surfaces but
with cool temperatures.
2) A hard tyre
for more abrasive asphalt, with warm or
hot air temperatures.
Pirelli tyres are marketed
in Oman by their authorized sole distributor
General Trading Enterprises LLC an OTE
group of company with strong distribution
and service network spread across Oman
