Third new Pirelli WRC tyre makes debut on Rally Mexico
After introducing two of its new control tyres on the first two rallies of the 2008 WRC season, Pirelli’s new gravel tyre - the Scorpion - will make its competitive debut on the gravel tracks of Rally Mexico.
Following the introduction of the PZero asphalt tyre in Monte Carlo and the Sottozero winter tyre in Sweden, the Scorpion is the last of Pirelli’s new range to make an appearance on a WRC rally; and after widespread acclaim for its asphalt and winter offerings, it has two tough acts to follow.
As is the case for the asphalt tyres, there are two compounds of the Scorpion gravel tyre available, intended to cover all the possible conditions that could be found on the gravel rounds of 2008 WRC series. A hard compound tyre will be used on rallies with a very abrasive surface - like Rally Mexico - while a soft compound will be used for the softer ground or mud of rallies like Wales Rally GB.
The Scorpion has been developed during test sessions carried out all over Europe, using a Peugeot 307 WRC prepared by Bozian Racing and piloted by Italian rally champion Paolo Andreucci.
“We have paid attention to making the new tyres as adaptable as possible, as they need to perform strongly on hard and compact gravel as well as on mud and loose gravel,” said Pirelli’s competition manager, Mario Isola. “Following comparison tests an asymmetric and directional design was chosen, in order to maximise grip under acceleration and braking - as well as providing good lateral grip.”
With anti-deflation mousse banned for 2008, keeping its new tyre puncture-free on the rocky gravel roads around Leon is one of the toughest challenges Pirelli will face this year. Saturday afternoon looks especially gruelling, as crews 75km of repated stages on the same tyres, followed by two passes of the Superspecial. But despite the fearsome reputation of the Mexican roads, Isola says the new Scorpion is up to the job.
“The tyre has been considerably strengthened in order to resist cuts, abrasions and punctures from sharp rocks, potholes, and other such obstacles,” said Isola. “The depth of the tread pattern has been increased in order to make the tyre last longer, and the diagonal tread blocks have been redesigned. The construction of the tyre has been heavily reinforced in order to meet the demands of competition without anti-deflation mousse. Most of the new reinforcements are based around the sidewalls. This is the most vulnerable part of the tyre, where it is easy to pick up a laceration or suffer a failure due to sharp rocks or other obstacles at the side of the road.
“The new construction uses solutions derived from ‘run-flat’ technology, which has already been used to good effect on our road car tyres. As well as reducing the risk of punctures to a minimum, these tyres allow the cars that do pick up a puncture to get to the end of the stage without losing too much time and without destroying the bodywork or any other components. The tyre can then simply be changed on the next road section.” He added.
-WRC, Pirelli
AIMONT RACING TEAM AND THE ITALIAN DRIVER GIGI GALLI DRIVING A CITROEN XSARA WRC FOR THE 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
On Thursday January 11th Aimont Racing Team and the Italian- rally driver Gigi Galli signed an agreement to compete together in 2007 in the WRC.
The program, with the help of Citroen Sport, consists in 8 world championship rallies in a Citroen Xsara WRC, with active differentials. The car will be followed technically by P.H.Sport and Pirelli will supply the tyres for the first two events. The eight rallies are as follows:
- Uddeholm Swedish Rally
- Rally Norway
- Rallye de Portugal
- Rally Argentina
- Rally d’Italia-Sardegna
- BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally
- Neste Oil Rally Finland
- Rally of New Zealand
Great satisfaction and lots of enthusiasm from both sides for a deal which is really important for the entire Italian and worldwide rally panorama. These are the words pronounced by Team Manager and Vice President of Aimont, Mr. Pierfrancesco Zanchi, after signing the agreement: “I am really satisfied. Finally, after much talk, we were able to close this fantastic deal in the WRC. We had been thinking about getting Gigi to drive in this years world championship for quite some time now and at last here we are! At this time we have 8 rallies planned and we are already working on expanding that. For all of us here at Aimont this is surely a very important experience and for Gigi it will be the possibility to be in the championship with a good program. I would like to thank all the people who helped us in making all this possible, starting with Citroen Sport, the French structure P.H. Sport, Pirelli Tyres, Xideko sport, Beta Utensili, Acerbis and Stilo”.
Adding to Team manager Zanchi' s own words we have those of the driver Gigi Galli: “For us the Xsara will be a completely new car . We can not hide the fact that we are quite proud of having realized this project that only a few weeks ago seemed almost impossible. I am very satisfied to have closed the deal with the Aimont Racing Team, who I consider one of the best team in the Italian rally panorama. Regarding the first two races I would say that the rally in Sweden is a race that we know quite well while , on the other hand, the one in Norway will be almost a completely new experience for all of us. The last two years, in Sweden, we run with WRC cars so I think we know how to deal with those cars on the snow surfaces. Now we have to capitalize those past experiences”.
“Emotions in this moment are so strong” – concluded Gigi – “We know there will be difficulties but we will do everything we can in order to continue to play a leading role in the world rally championship. I have been following this dream for a long time and we are definitely ready to take this chance now.”
The rally in Sweden will take place on February 8th in Karlstad where an unedited super-special stage will be held, opening this new and enthusiastic adventure for Aimont Racing Team, P.H. Sport, Gigi Galli and his co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini.
Gigi Galli's sponsors for this season:
-Gigi Galli
Gigi Galli won the Memorial Bettega last weekend ahead of Toni Gardemeister and Chris Atkinson. Galli was again back in action with the Bozian Racing prepared Peugeot 307, with the bright yellow livery of Pirelli Competizioni. Setting the fastest times on three of the event's five stages, Galli competed with his 2007 season in mind.
"I am delighted with this second consecutive success at Bologna," said Galli. "After the optimum results achieved in the Peugeot 307 WRC on Pirelli in various rounds of the world rally championship this year, winning the Memorial Bettega is always very pleasing. The P Zero K6s gave me a tremendous amount of traction on both the loose and asphalt, which was most certainly not the surface for which they were developed, further proof of their quality. As far as I am personally concerned, I hope this victory will earn me a valid programme for 2007, like the one Pirelli Competizioni quickly put together this year."
-article: WRC.com
-photo: Race&Motion
After introducing two of its new control tyres on the first two rallies of the 2008 WRC season, Pirelli’s new gravel tyre - the Scorpion - will make its competitive debut on the gravel tracks of Rally Mexico.
