Tyre maker BF Goodrich has had a remarkable start to the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship season. They have finished each event of the season with the rally victory - thanks to Kronos Total Citroen World Rally Team's Sebastien Loeb and BP-Ford World Rally Team's Marcus Gronholm, both run BF Goodrich tyres.
The BF Goodrich development team knows that the Rally d'Italia Sardegna has been one of their weaker events in recent years. In 2004, Petter Solberg - running Pirelli tyres - jumped out to an early lead, which he never returned and captured the victory. Though, BF Goodrich has created a surprise tyre for their drivers.
"We call it a 'joker' because although testing went very well it doesn't yet replace an existing tyre," said BF Goodrich's Aime Chatard. "You always got to be careful not to be lured into a false sense of security when testing in rallying. For one thing, the drivers know their test bases increasingly well and that can false the benchmarking process of tested tyres. Also, unlike in circuit races, the drivers don't go over the same roads on the event itself, so the challenge is to extrapolate the results obtained in testing for as yet unknown territory, especially when you're talking about extremely responsive tyres."
"Gravel rally tyres are becoming more and more like racing tyres," Chatard added.
The Rally d'Italia Sardegna will be run 19-21 May.
Showing posts with label BF Goodrich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BF Goodrich. Show all posts
Monday, May 15, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
BF Goodrich goes for six
The return to gravel also marks a change in tyre choice, and BF Goodrich is prepared to capture its sixth consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory in as many events this season.
OMV-Peugeot Norway World Rally Team's Manfred Stohl explained the importance of tyres in the South American event: "Argentina will be my 100th WRC start," said Stohl. "It's an event I have already contested seven times in a Group N car, and this will be my second attempt in a World Rally Car. The stages tend to be fast, and sandier rather than rough, although you can come across some big rocks in places and you need take it extremely cautiously through those. Tyre durability is a key factor because, although the surfaces aren't all that abrasive, we will need to cover up to 80 kilometers with the same tyres. As far as set-up is concerned, I prefer the car to be nimble more than anything else."
"Rally Argentina is a cocktail of slippery ground if it rains on the higher ground, sandy roads in the valley bottoms and some particularly rocky stages, like Mina Clavero and El Condor," explained Aime Chatard, BF Goodrich's Rallies programme Manager. "Tyres need to be versatile and durable [as well] to cope with the groups of up to 80 kilometeres of stages."
OMV-Peugeot Norway World Rally Team's Manfred Stohl explained the importance of tyres in the South American event: "Argentina will be my 100th WRC start," said Stohl. "It's an event I have already contested seven times in a Group N car, and this will be my second attempt in a World Rally Car. The stages tend to be fast, and sandier rather than rough, although you can come across some big rocks in places and you need take it extremely cautiously through those. Tyre durability is a key factor because, although the surfaces aren't all that abrasive, we will need to cover up to 80 kilometers with the same tyres. As far as set-up is concerned, I prefer the car to be nimble more than anything else."
"Rally Argentina is a cocktail of slippery ground if it rains on the higher ground, sandy roads in the valley bottoms and some particularly rocky stages, like Mina Clavero and El Condor," explained Aime Chatard, BF Goodrich's Rallies programme Manager. "Tyres need to be versatile and durable [as well] to cope with the groups of up to 80 kilometeres of stages."
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