Mikolajki, June 28, 2009 – Pirelli’s soft-compound Scorpion tires delivered a faultless performance on unknown territory – taking the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team to victory in the debut of Rally Poland in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Despite having very little information about the eighth round of the World Rally Championship – which was run on gravel stages close to the holiday resort of Mikolajki – there were no problems with punctures or tire wear for any of the leading competitors throughout the three-day event.

Conditions were cooler than expected in Poland, with occasional rain during the event. Nonetheless, despite the humidity the stages remained in good condition even when used a second time. Along with the traction and grip provided by the Pirelli Scorpion rubber, this allowed drivers to reach average speeds of close to 81 mph on some of the stages. Ford’s excellent result with its Pirelli tires has set up a thrilling championship duel with just four rounds of the World Rally Championship left to run.

The new World Rally Championship leader and Rally Poland winner Mikko Hirvonen commented: “Actually, I was surprised by just how much traction and grip there was on the stages. I was definitely expecting worse. Even when I was running first on the road, it wasn’t really a problem for us. We had quite a wide variety of conditions here, but the car and the tires coped very well with all of them. I’ve really enjoyed this rally, and of course it makes the championship quite interesting now.”

Poland was also host to the sixth round of the Junior World Rally Championship. A thrilling battle meant that the two candidates for victory – in an R3 car and a Super 1600 car – started the final day separated by less than a second. In the end, it was Kevin Abbring who triumphed at the wheel of a Pirelli-equipped Renault Clio R3.

Pirelli’s rally manager Mario Isola concluded: “From our point of view it was a perfect rally. All we had to do was supply the teams with the tires, and there were no other problems for us to deal with. The wear rate has been excellent, while providing everyone with plenty of grip, and there have been no punctures despite some tricky conditions. Our soft compound gravel tire – which will be used again in Finland and Britain – is seeing much more use compared to last year, but it has shown itself capable of adapting to a very wide range of different conditions. There was a particularly good fight in the Junior World Rally Championship as well. Unlike the main series, competitors are allowed to cut their tires in the Junior Championship – adding an extra tactical element.”

The next round the World Rally Championship – the legendary Rally Finland – takes place from July 31 to August 2 on fast gravel stages close to Jyvaskyla.

Pirelli Tire SpA – Press Office – Motorsport Communication
Viale Sarca, 222 – 20126 Milano – Italy – phone/fax +39 02 644245407 – www.pirelli.com

Loutraki, June 14, 2009 – BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen turned in a faultless drive on his Pirelli tires to collect his first win of the season on the Acropolis Rally of Greece, which ended in Loutraki this afternoon.

This seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship is always a true test of man, machine and the tires beneath them– and this year’s Acropolis was an absolute classic from that perspective. Moving away from its Athens base for the first time since 2005, the shift west to Loutraki allowed the organizers to bring back classic Greek stages like Bauxites and Drossohori – and these infamous roads proved to be the biggest test to date for the Pirelli Scorpion rubber. The tires, supplied to all World Rally Championship competitors, passed through the mind-blowingly rough and achingly hot stages with flying colors.

For the second event in succession, a Ford Focus RS WRC 09 was at the front of the field from the start to finish. For the majority of day one, Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN), winner of the previous round in Italy, was leading. But a mistake on the final stage of the day dropped the Finn three minutes and left his countryman and team-mate Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) leading into Saturday.

Hirvonen’s job of staying out front was made easier when the Citroen Total World Rally Team pair Sebastien Loeb (F) and Dani Sordo (ES) his trouble on Saturday morning. Loeb crashed his C4 WRC out of contention on Saturday’s opener, while Sordo departed two stages later after breaking a wheel. Citroen Junior Team driver and reigning Junior World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier (F) collected a career-best second overall behind Hirvonen, while Latvala recovered to third, ensuring Ford would close the gap on its French rival at the top of the FIA WRC Manufacturers’ Championship.

As usual, Greece provided an incredible test for all involved, with the temperatures in stages regularly topping 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and the second run of stages being among the roughest the drivers have ever seen. Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen said the event was among the toughest he’d done, but he added that the Pirelli Scorpion had been perfect for the task in hand.

Hirvonen said: “When Pirelli’s control tire was first announced and we knew the Scorpion would come in only two compounds; there were immediately worries over the hot, rough rallies for the hard tire. It was precisely this kind of event which was the big concern. Last year, I don’t think the tire was truly tested; here, on the Acropolis Rally of Greece, it absolutely was and I have to say it was absolutely perfect. I spent much of the second day looking after my tires to make sure there was plenty of tread left on them, but I didn’t need to. The tires were fantastic and I am the first to admit that I’m surprised. Pirelli’s Scorpion has exceeded my expectations – if you could see what we have driven these things over, it’s incredible.”

The Acropolis Rally of Greece was also a round of the Production Car World Rally Championship, also supplied by Pirelli. After another titanic battle for Group N honors, local driver Lambros Athanassoulas arrived back in Loutraki to spray the champagne and collect the biggest prize of his rallying career to date.

Pirelli’s rally manager Mario Isola said: “There’s no doubt that this has been a massive challenge for all involved. The Acropolis is always hard, but with temperatures being so high and the roads being so hard, this has been a particularly hard event. I’m very pleased to say that of the 1,000-plus Scorpion tires we have supplied on this event, we have had less than 10 punctures. That’s an incredible testament to the work Pirelli has done on producing the most durable high performance rally tires to work in the most extreme of conditions.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 26, 2009

PIRELLI SCORPION TIRES POWER LATVALA TO ITALIAN VICTORY

OLBIA, Italy - Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala put the brakes on Sebastien Loeb’s domination of the 2009 World Rally Championship season – claiming his first win of the year after competing in the all-gravel Rally d’Italia-Sardegna: Pirelli’s home event.

Latvala led the rally from start to finish, despite the handicap of being first on the road throughout Saturday and Sunday with the unenviable task of sweeping the course clean for the rest of the drivers. His Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen finished second – ahead of third-place driver Solberg and fourth-place driver Sebastien Loeb.  Loeb maintains a comfortable lead in the drivers’ World Rally Championship (WRC), and his Citroen team is leading the manufacturer’s championship in WRC as well.

Conditions on the Rally d’Italia, based in the Sardinian city of Olbia, were dry and warm during all three days of the event with temperatures frequently exceeding 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The roads provided a formidable challenge, with a surface layer of loose and dusty gravel covering a hard base with sharp rocks. The hard-compound Pirelli Scorpion tires used in this event – similar to those that may be chosen for the next round in Greece – proved durable and up to the challenge of Sardinia, contributing to a thrilling battle for supremacy between the two Ford team mates.

Latvala, who became the youngest man to win a round of the World Rally Championship in Sweden last year, said: “It’s been an amazing three days with some really difficult conditions and big rocks; but we’ve had no problems with the tires whatsoever. Being first on the road was a tricky task, but we were able to overcome that and bring home a great result for the team.”

Pirelli’s home event was also the second rally of the Pirelli Star Driver program: a unique initiative to give five drivers from FIA regional championships all over the world the opportunity to compete in six rounds of the World Rally Championship with identical Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Group N cars. On an event that gave all six young drivers some extremely valuable experience of rough gravel, up-and-coming Finn Jarkko Nikara emerged best-placed of the Pirelli Star Drivers.

In addition, Sardinia – just like the previous WRC event in Argentina –also hosted a round of the Junior World Rally Championship and Production Car

~more~

World Rally Championship, both of which are supplied by Pirelli as part of the Italian manufacturers’ three-year contract with the FIA.

Swedish driver Patrik Sandell claimed his third win of the year in the Production Car category, at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia S2000, while Citroen C2 Super 1600 driver Martin Prokop collected the laurels in the Junior series.

Pirelli’s Rally Manager Mario Isola concluded: “We faced conditions in Sardinia that were even tougher than usual, with several crews being forced out with suspension and damper problems as a result of the constant punishment from the stages. Nonetheless, neither of the leading teams encountered the slightest problem with punctures during the rally, enabling them to start the final day separated by less than 10 seconds.  Even Loeb’s much publicized “puncture” was not a puncture at all, but the outcome of his Citroen hitting a tree and damaging the tire valve. These very rough conditions also taught our five Star Drivers how to blend consistency with their obvious speed, which will serve them well in the future.”

###

Pirelli Tyre SpA – Press Office – Motorsport Communication

Viale Sarca, 222 – 20126 Milano – Italy – phone/fax +39 02 644245407 – www.pirelli.com

Pirelli Tyre SpA – Press Office – Motorsport Communication

Viale Sarca, 222 – 20126 Milano – Italy – phone/fax +39 02 644245407 – www.pirelli.com