The first question to ask is, ‘What conditions will prevail on this
year’s Corsica Rally?’ Just five months after the 2001 edition of
the ‘Rally of 10,000 Corners’ the World Rally Championship returns
to the French island at the end of winter and some surprises can be
expected. The higher Stages could easily run in wintry conditions
and there remains the possibility of snow. Therefore between March
8-10, teams and tyre suppliers will be most carefully studying the
sky and attempting to interpret the climatic and environmental
conditions that will decide the destiny of the third round of the
this season’s championship.

“We are preparing our range of tyres for Corsica to try and cover
every weather possibility from dry to wet,- says Pirelli rally
manager Fiore Brivio-.The move from late October to early March
will bring a much higher chance of rain and possibly even snow on
some Stages. We’ve had wintry conditions before on this event and
although the route does not go into the central area of the island
this year, it could easily happen again on Stages where there is
high altitude.”

Most of the stages used to be narrow and extremely twisty with
continuous curves in quick succession. However, while this has
changed, it does not make the event any easier. ‘The rally has
changed a lot recently and some of the most narrow and twisty roads
are not used any more. Corsica uses much wider roads and there is a
lot of new asphalt that is not as abrasive as it used to be. High
wear rates used to be a big issue here but this is not so much the
case. Equally, when the event ran at the beginning of May it was
quite common for high temperatures to further increase the demands
on tyres (and drivers!) but this will probably not be a problem in
2002.’

The PZero asphalt range is fully competitive thanks to new methods
of construction and materials. Long tests with Subaru and Ford, and
also the performance of the tyres in Monte Carlo this year, have
shown that the PZero tyres are particularly effective on abrasive
asphalt – exactly the conditions that characterise the Corsica
Rally.

Two Patterns For Every Situation

For the abrasive asphalt and the thousands of corners in Corsica,
Pirelli has assigned a highly specialised range of PZero tyres. The
objective is to ensure the optimum performance in any of the
possible weather conditions and on all of the varied special
Stages. Both Ford and Subaru have selected the RS and RE options,
two patterns with vast experience (and already winners in Corsica)
with several evolutions following extensive asphalt tests by both
teams. All are equipped with Pirelli’s EMI anti-deflation
system.

From Dry To Damp
RS (Size 225/650-18)
Type A tyre for essentially dry asphalt
Compound options 50, 70 and 90 (with evolutions)
Description This tyre covers all the possible conditions
ranging from dry asphalt to a damp surface, the 70 compound being
the most likely base choice for the rally. The 90 compound is for
use in cold temperatures or on damp and dirty surfaces.

From Very Damp To Wet
RE (Size 225/650-18)
Type Gomma intermedia e da bagnato
Compound options 70 and 90 (with evolutions)
Description This is a very versatile tyre, designed for very
damp to wet surfaces. The very soft compound 90 option can tackle
rain and low temperatures or even the presence of a little snow.
The RE tyre can be further hand cut for heavy rain or where there
is a lot of standing water on the Stages.

NOTE: The higher the compound number the softer the tyre,

The Pirelli Team For Corsica

2 Subaru Impreza WRC Makinen-Lindstrm* &
Solberg-Mils*
4 Ford Focus RS Sainz-Moya*, McRae-Grist*, Martin-Park* &
Duval-Fortin
7 Mitsubishi Lancer Gr.N Fiorio, Trelles, Ferreiros, Iliev, Rowe,
Baldini e Manfrinato
* registered for Manufacturer Championship points

…plus other teams not regularly contesting the World Rally
Championship.

Pirelli’s Corsica Record
Colin McRae’s back to back wins on this event in 1997 and 1998
underlined the performance potential of the PZero asphalt range.
Although these were the high points of recent Corsica rallies,
Pirelli’s list of successes on the island include four wins in the
first six years of the World Rally Championship when Jean-Claude
Andruet, Markku Alen and Bernard Darniche all won on the
island.

Recent winners
1990 Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli (Lancia
Integrale)
1991 Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (Toyota Celica
GT-Four)
1992 Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli (Lancia HF
Integrale)
1993 Francois Delecour/Daniel Grataloup (Ford
Escort RS Cosworth)
1994 Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli (Toyota Celica
Turbo 4WD)
1995 Didier Auriol/Denis Giraudet (Toyota Celica
GT-Four)
1996* Philippe Bugalski/Jean-Paul Chiaroni
(Renault Maxi Megane)
1997 Colin McRae/Nicky Grist (Subaru Impreza
WRC97)
1998 Colin McRae/Nicky Grist (Subaru Impreza
WRC98)
1999 Philippe Bugalski/Jean-Paul Chiaroni
(Citron Xsara kit car)
2000 Gilles Panizzi/Herve Panizzi (Peugeot
206WRC)
2001 Jesus Puras/Marc Marti (Citron Xsara
WRC)
*Gara Valida soltanto per il Mondiale 2 Ruote Motrici

Contact website : www.ffsa.org/rallye-de-france

Around The World In 14 Events
Montecarlo 17-20 January Asphalt/snow/ice
The perfect start to the season for Pirelli with an historic
victory going to the Subaru of Tommi Makinen and with four cars
fitted with Pirelli PZero tyres in the top six places. The rally
was run almost entirely without snow and saw a superb result the RS
tyre in the level 9 ‘thermal’ compound that gives maximum
performance in conditions of dry asphalt with only a little
ice.

Svezia * 1-3 February Snow/ice/gravel
Unfortunately early snow turned quickly into mud but already the
Subarus of Makinen and Solberg had retired with engine problems and
McRae’s Ford suffered a heavy penalty, breaking a wheel after
hitting a rock. Third place for Sainz in the other Ford was the
best result although again the competition showed the positive
steps forward made by the PZero studded tyres.

Corsica* 8-10 March Asphalt

Spagna 22-24 March Asphalt

Ciprus * 19-21 April Gravel

Argentina * 17-19 May Gravel

Acropolis 14-16 June Gravel

Safari * 11-14 July Gravel

Finland * 8-11 August Gravel

Germany 22-25 August Asphalt

San Remo 20-22 September Asphalt

New Zealand * 3-6 October Gravel

Australia * 1-3 November Gravel

Great Britain 15-17 November Gravel

* WRC Production Car World Championship (Group N) events

Milan, February 2002

Using standard Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres, German car
manufacturer Volkswagen AG set six new world records and several
other high-speed records for passenger cars. The tests were
conducted on February 23th and 24th, on the Nardo test track in
Italy.

The following is the list of world records that were topped by
the VW/Pirelli team:

• 1,000 miles at an average speed of 325.863 km/h
  (previously 319.039 km/h)
• 6 hours at an average speed of 325.584 km/h
  (previously 317.606 km/h)
• 12 hours at an average speed of 324.876 km/h
  (previously 314.274 km/h)
• 5,000 km at an average speed of 324.850 km/h
  (previously 295.440 km/h)
• 24 hours at an average speed of 322.891 km/h
  (previously 295.238 km/h)
• 5,000 miles at an average speed of 323.029 km/h
  (previously 291.869 km/h)

For all international class records and world records, average
speeds of more than 320 kp/h (more than 200 mph) were maintained,
with the result, that the records set up by the same car last
October were surpassed (e.g. previous 24h-worldrecord was beaten by
outstanding 27,7 km/h). At the session in the autumn of 2001,
Volkswagens prototype established three world and six international
class records.

This vehicle was derived from the ” W12 Coup” concept
car, equipped with a 6L mid-engine rated at 600 bhp. The car was
equipped with standard Pirelli P Zero Rosso 255/40 ZR 19 tyres
allowing it to reach a top speed of 350 km/h during its world
record performance.

Cooperation between Pirelli and Volkswagen for setting
high-speed records has a long-standing tradition. As early as 1980,
Volkswagen equipped its then experimental ARVW Diesel car with
those legendary Pirelli P7 wide tyres and set a 1-hour world record
that has yet to be broken. Up to this very day, that record still
stands at a breath-taking average speed of 353.88 km/h, and at a
standing start at that. Together with the latest achieved records,
all possible time world records (1-, 6-, 12- and 24-hours) are now
owned by the VW-Pirelli-connection.

What a fantastic start to the season! Tommi Makinen
(Subaru-Pirelli) secured Pirelli’s 122nd WRC victory, became the
first driver ever to win four successive Monte Carlo rallies and at
the same time became the first driver to win 24 WRC events. Cars
using Pirelli PZero tyres took four of the top six places (pending
any action by the FIA over Citroen’s appeal) and won 8 of the 14
Stages. The action now moves to Sweden (February 1-3) for a true
specialist rally thanks to the challenge of rallying on snow. In
recent years, however, the lack of thick snow has provided an extra
challenge and made this a very technical event from a tyre point of
view. Teams must be prepared for conditions varying from thick,
fresh snow to hard frozen gravel and this requires maximum
attention to tyre construction, choice and studding.

Pirelli rally manager Fiore Brivio explains: ‘If the event was
simply full snow then it would be quite easy because there would be
just one tyre choice to make. However, now we are usually having to
find the right tyre and stud combination and that means we have 5-6
tyre combinations. If you have full and fresh snow then you can
have the studs at their maximum protrusion for maximum grip.
However, if there is a lot of ice and gravel then this will simply
break the studs or pull them out of the tyres and of course then
you lose the performance. In those conditions we must use tyres
with studs that are not protruding so much and where there is more
stud held inside the tyre so that it doesn’t come out. People talk
about long and short studs but this is wrong. The length is always
the same – it’s the protrusion that changes with more or less stud
inside the tyre as a result.

After a major technical breakthrough in 2001, this year the
PZero tyre range for Ford, Subaru and the various Group N teams
will utilise the Pirelli studding technique that ensured maximum
retention of the studs and maximum stability of the tyres that led
to Pirelli winning most of the Stages on last year’s rally.

THE STUD RULES

Pirelli will take to Sweden around 2000 tyres, all equipped with
the EMI anti-deflation system.
In Sweden the choice of studs is free but the characteristics are
fixed by the following regulations:
Maximum length 20mm
Maximum diameter 9mm (at the base); 6.8mm (of
the cone at the point where it emerges from the tyre); 2.5mm
at the tip
Maximum weight 4 grammes
Maximum density 12 studs for every 10cm of the
tyre’s circumference (maximum 400 studs per tyre)
The central band of the tyre (47mm width), unlike in
Montecarlo, can be studded

FOR HARD SURFACES
J (Size 145/85-16)
Type Base tyre for ice and frozen gravel
Compound options 2: Base and evolution
Description An asymmetric design for use on frozen gravel or ice
(Pirelli was the first introduce this design, in 1997, the year of
success for the Subaru-Pirelli of Eriksson-Parmander).
2 types of stud protrusion: maximum for thick snow or warm
temperatures; minimum for hard frozen surfaces or freezing
temperatures.
The tyre can also be hand cut for further evolution in soft
snow.

FOR SOFT SURFACES OR SNOW
W (Size 145/85-16)
Type Tyre for snow and for soft ice
Compound options 2: a mixture of compounds and constructions to
deal with different surface temperatures
Description This ‘directional’ tyre is designed to cut deep into
the surface to obtain maximum grip and directional stability. It
has a symmetrical tread pattern and will be used with just one stud
option.

THE PIRELLI TEAM FOR SWEDEN

2 Subaru Impreza WRC: Makinen-Lindstrom,
Solberg-Mills
4 Ford Focus RS: McRae-Grist, Sainz-Moya, Martin-Park &
Duval-Fortin
5 Mitsubishi Lancer Group N: Fiorio, Trelles, Valousek, Iliev,
Rowe
1 Subaru Impreza Group N: Arai
…plus other teams not regularly contesting the World Rally
Championship.

PIRELLI’S SWEDISH HISTORY

The 2001 Swedish Rally will be well remembered by Pirelli.
Between them Richard Burns and Colin McRae won all but 4 of the 17
Stages. Unfortunately an error by both drivers on one of the
opening Stages cost them significant time and denied Pirelli a near
certain 1-2 result. It underlined Pirelli’s frustrations at this
event but was a clear indication of how the performance of
Pirelli’s studded tyres has improved dramatically with the use of
new state of the art technology.
Successes in the past have included Bjorn Waldegard’s 1975 win in a
Lancia Stratos and Kenneth Eriksson’s for Subaru at the start of
the 1997 season when Pirelli won the first three events virtually
unchallenged.

RECENT WINNERS
1990 Rally cancelled because of too mild weather
1991 Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander (Mitsubishi Galant
VR-4)
1992 Mats Jonsson/Lars Backmann (Toyota Celica GT-Four)
1993 Mats Jonsson/Lars Backmann (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1994* Thomas Radstrom/Lars Backmann (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD)
1995 Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander (Mitsubishi Lancer
Evo)
1996 Tommi Makinen/Seppo Harjanne (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1997 Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander (Subaru Impreza
WRC97)
1998 Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
1999 Tommi Makinen/Risto Mannisenmaki (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo)
2000 Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Peugeot 206WRC)
2001 Harri Rovanpera/Risto Pietilainen (Peugeot 206WRC)
*W2L event only

Contact website: www.swerally.se

AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 EVENTS

Monte Carlo 18-20 January Asphalt/snow/ice
The perfect start to the season for Pirelli with an historic
victory going to the Subaru of Tommi Makinen and with four cars
fitted with Pirelli PZero tyres in the top six places. The rally
was run almost entirely without snow and saw a superb result the RS
tyre in the level 9 ‘thermal’ compound that gives maximum
performance in conditions of dry asphalt with only a little
ice.

Sweden* 1-3 February Snow/ice/gravel

Corsica* 8-10 March Asphalt

Catalunya 22-24 March Asphalt

Cyprus* 19-21 April Gravel

Argentina* 17-19 May Gravel

Acropolis 14-16 June Gravel

Safari * 11-14 July Gravel

Finland* 8-11 August Gravel

Germany 22-25 August Asphalt

San Remo 20-22 September Asphalt

New Zealand* 3-6 October Gravel

Australia* 1-3 November Gravel

Great Britain 17-19 November Gravel

* WRC Production Car World Championship (Group N)
events