What roles will Pirelli tires play in Portugal?

On the Croatian asphalt, the efficiency and resistance of the tires were at the center of debates and criticism. As the championship begins a series of gravel events, how will the Pirellis perform?

Published on 18/05/2022 à 19:25

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What roles will Pirelli tires play in Portugal?

In Porto, for the first gravel round of the calendar, Pirelli brought around 2400 casings which will be mounted on all 4-wheel drives (Rally2, Rally3). 520 tires will be exclusively intended for the 12 Rally1 hybrids present. This 4th meeting of the year marks the debut of these new machines on this surface and there are many questions concerning both the cars and the tires.

All @pirellisport tire info for @rallydeportugal 🛞 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/BATkVoUddL

- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) May 17, 2022

The Italian manufacturer is competing in its 2nd season as sole supplier of WRC and Portugal will see the introduction of new products. “It will be a big test for the teams and their new cars, explains Terenzio Testoni, the activity manager rally from Pirelli. This is also the first opportunity to deploy the new HA (hard, Editor's note) and SA (soft, Editor's note) compounds of our Scorpion KX WRC tires, which combine what we learned last year in WRC, with the special characteristics required by the new Rally1. »

In the Porto region, if the weather remains dry, competitors will mainly opt for hard while soft will only be used during the first passages and especially if it rains. On the fast but grueling Portuguese paths where the stones are numerous and treacherous, it will be interesting to observe how these improved tires will behave. Will the punctures disrupt the progress of the rally or will Pirelli have a better weekend than in Zagreb?