Pirelli & C S p A : returns to World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo

24/01/2018

After a year off in 2017, Pirelli returns to the World Rally Championship on Rallye Monte-Carlo: the oldest and most prestigious event of them all. This year, Pirelli has homologated tyres for the WRC2 category and will also be sole supplier to the Junior World Rally Championship, which comprises five rounds in Sweden, Corsica, Portugal, Finland and Turkey.

The challenge: Rallye Monte-Carlo is always compared to the roulette wheel in Monaco's Casino. Stages can start off in completely dry conditions, then turn into snow, ice, black ice, rain and sleet: or sometimes all these conditions in the course of just one stage. Getting the tyre choice right or wrong can result in huge time gains or losses - but drivers are never sure what was the right choice until they get to the end of the stage.

The products: Pirelli has homologated a new range of products for the 2018 World Rally Championship.
The tyres used in Monte-Carlo will be the RK7B medium for dry conditions and RK9A supersoft, for mixed dry and damp conditions. These tyres have a specially formulated compound to provide good grip even in marginal conditions, using some of the technology also seen on Pirelli's Sottozero winter tyres for the road.
For snow and ice as well as wet conditions, the Sottozero STZ-B is available in two versions, both with and without studs.

The rules: Drivers are allowed 37 tyres in total from the four different types available over the course of the rally. Extra tyres are allowed for shakedown.

Key stage: SS1 Thoard-Sisteron (36.69km). Unusually, the first stage is the longest of the entire rally. Starting at 21.43 on Thursday, conditions are usually icy with a big risk of black ice on extremely treacherous old asphalt. With competitors launching themselves into competitive action for the first time in months after the off-season, big gains can be made by those willing to take risks.

Pirelli rally activity manager Terenzio Testoni: 'After a year off from the World Rally Championship - where we have of course been very active in the European championship and other rally series - we are building up to an increased presence in the WRC, especially starting with the next round in Sweden where the Junior World Rally Championship begins. For Monte-Carlo, a new family of RK tyres makes its debut, with specific compounds that are formulated to make the difference when grip is marginal. The Sottozero has also been improved, providing unprecedented levels of traction even in severe snow and ice; the sort of conditions we could see this year, according to the latest weather reports.'

Media information: Pirelli head of car racing Mario Isola will visit the Rallye Monte-Carlo service area in Gap on Friday to talk about Pirelli's future plans in rallying: please get in touch to reserve an interview session

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