It’s back to gravel for the two concluding contests of the World
Rally Championship. From November 1-4 the championship moves to
Australia for the 13th and penultimate round of a tense
championship that promises drama until the last special stage at
the final round, the Rally of Great Britain on November 23-25.
There are no great changes to the stages of the Australian event,
they will be the same as in the previous years: fast and slippery
thanks to the presence of that special gravel (the famous rolling
stones that present the drivers with a unique and particularly
delicate challenge. Australia is also the last rally of the year
that runs in practically summery conditions not any more the spring
weather seen in September when the event used to be run in its
early days. But the few doubts on what the weather will do will be
met by the Pzero gravel range PZero designed for this specific
event to offer maximum competitiveness and versatility.

For meeting this last requirement, Pirelli is fairly confident. On
the gravel rallies so far this season the PZero tyres have taken
four dominant victories. Last month in New Zealand it was Subaru
(winning with Richard Burns) while Ford have been superb
protagonists. Both the Ford team and Colin McRae lead the
respective Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships, partly due to
dominant wins during the summer in Argentina, Cyprus and
Greece.

For this latest contest, the Pirelli crews for the Australian
gravel will utilise the K and KM tyres respectively for harder and
cleaned up gravel and loose surfaces with the presence of a leyer
of extra gravel. The possibility of rain is rare at this time of
year in Australia but not impossible so the compound options
available will range from level 2 (the hardest) to level 6 (the
softest). The final solution, especially where the loose gravel is
deep and particularly slippery the covers can literally be carved
by hand in the finest Pirelli tradition. All the tyres will be
fitted with the EMI anti-deflation system.

TWO PATTERNS WITH EVOLUTIONS

The PZero range of gravel tyres for Rally Australia includes
approximately 1800 tyres in two tread patterns: K and KM with
evolutions and in all the possible compounds from the most hard
hard to the most soft. All the tyres can be hand cut and all are
equipped with Pirelli’s EMI anti-deflation system.
Here is the description and the characteristics of all the types of
tyre available:

FOR HARD AND CLEANED UP SURFACES
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for hard and compact surfaces
Compound options 2, 4 and 6 (all with evolution)
Description Level 2 for dry surface and high temperatures; level 4
for dry surface and lower temperatures or for mixed dry/damp
surface; level 6 for damp/wet surfaces or low temperatures (under
10 degrees). All the K-pattern tyres can be hand-cut.

FOR SOFT OR DAMP SURFACES
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type For use on soft surfaces and with loose gravel
Compound options 2, 4 and 6 (all with evolution)
Description The same rules apply as for the K-pettern tyres. Level
2 is used on dry surfaces with high temperatures; level 4 with
lower temperatures or for dry/damp surfaces; level 6 for maximum
performance on damp/wet surfaces or temperatures below 10
degrees.

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

THE PIRELLI TEAM IN AUSTRALIA

3 Ford Focus RS Sainz-Moya*, McRae-Grist* and
Delecour-Grataloup
3 Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Burns-Reid*, Solberg-Mills* and
Bourne-Vincent
plus other teams not regularly contesting the World Rally
Championship
* Drivers nominated to collect points for World Championship for
Manufacturers

OUR DRIVERS SAID…
COLIN McRAE

The gravel set up of the Ford Focus is very good so we shouldn’t
have any big problems in Australia. Tyre choice won’t be a problem
if it’s dry and thanks to our performances earlier in the season
we’ll be in a good position to get the best of the roads. I’m
feeling pretty confident for both Australia and Rally GB so it
could be a good end to the season for both myself and Ford-Pirelli,
especially if we can secure the manufacturers’ title on this
round.

CARLOS SAINZ

I’m glad that the starting order will be sorted out before the
rally begins as that means the problems of cleaning stages won’t
force us to play silly tactics like last year. Road position is
important but once that is resolves then this is not an especially
difficult event for tyre choice unless it rains. However, at this
time of year we should be able to enjoy plenty of Australian
sunshine!

RICHARD BURNS

I was second last year and won the event the year before (the last
time the event used this system of choosing your start position) so
I have to be pretty confident of another good result. It will be a
level playing field and so that has to work in our favour. We won’t
get the first choice of start position but we shouldn’t lose too
much on the first day and hopefully we can still be leading in time
to choose first on day two. We know just what the Subaru can do on
Pirelli tyres on the unique Australian surface while the Ford
drivers won’t know exactly so I guess Colin and Carlos would like
to listen when we make our tyre choices

PETTER SOLBERG

I only did seven stages of last year’s Australia Rally but I set
some fastest times and I’m confident that I can get a good result
this time. Obviously I won’t have the best start position but I’ll
just have to push like hell. I’m not so worried about this year’s
result, though, I’m looking at the event as a lesson for next year
when I’ll have Tommi Makinen as my team mate at Subaru-Pirelli.
I’ve beaten him already so I’ll just have to make sure I’m in the
right condition to do it again!

AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 EVENTS

Monte Carlo 19-21 January Asphalt/snow/ice

A great start to the season for Pirelli in Monte Carlo, with the
Ford Focus RS of Colin McRae leading after Leg 2, before having to
retire with a mechanical problem. The PZero range proved to be
efficient, competitive and wear resistant on all surfaces including
the traditional Monte Carlo asphalt/snow/ice mixture.

Sweden 9-11 February Snow/ice/gravel

The most stage wins but no victory – that was the result for
Pirelli in Sweden. If it were not for the time spent off the road
on the first day, either the Ford of Colin McRae or the Subaru of
Richard Burns would most likely have emerged as the winner, along
with the Ford of long-time leader Carlos Sainz. It was a superb
performance by the new Pirelli PZero tyres with their Italian-made
studs.

Portugal 9-11 March Gravel

Sainz drives his Pirelli-equipped Ford very close to victory,
leading with just one stage to go before being narrowly beaten by
Makinen’s Mitsubishi. 4th place (and first points of 2001) for
Subaru’s ace Burns. Positive performance for the PZero gravel range
of tyres, always in the KM6 option, with varying level of hand
cuts

Catalunya 23-25 March Asphalt

Near summer temperatures drastically altered the technical
challenge in Spain while the situation was also affected by
technical problems for both Ford and Subaru on the opening day. As
a result the Pirelli drivers were forced to run further down the
order on the second day where dirty roads prevented an effective
attack. A disappointing event.

Argentina 4-6 May Gravel

Victory was secured for Pirelli with a dominant performance by the
PZero gravel range of tyres that won all but four of the 21 stages.
Colin McRae brought the first win for the Pirelli-Ford partnership
ahead of Subaru driver Richard Burns and of Carlos Sainz
(Ford-Pirelli). This was a major result for the K and KM pattern
tyres on a difficult event.

Cyprus 1-3 June Gravel

Once more the PZero range of gravel tyres dominated the first 4
places on the rally with Colin McRae (Ford-Pirelli) taking his 2nd
win in a row from Richard Burns (Subaru-Pirelli). Carlos Sainz’s
Ford finished 3rd ahead of Toshihiro Arai’s Subaru. This was a
major result for the XR2 tyres used on every stage of the event to
secure this top performance.

Acropolis 15-17 June Gravel

Another gravel victory for Pirelli and the 3rd win in succession
for the Ford Focus WRC of Colin McRae and Nicky Grist. The Pirelli
PZero range’s domination was almost total, winning all but one of
the Stages, with Petter Solberg’s Subaru taking 2nd and the Ford of
Francois Delecour 4th Only late mechanical problems for Richard
Burns and Carlos Sainz denied them podium places.

Safari 20-22 July Gravel

Retirement from the contest by the Subaru of Richard Burns
(suspension), the Fords of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz
(transmission and engine respectively). On the final day the Subaru
of Petter Solberg (wheel bearing) retired to leave Pirelli with
only the 4th placed Ford of Francois Delecour despite winning 7 of
12 stages. Another dominant Group N performance with Gabriel Pozzo
6th overall.

Finland 24-26 August Gravel

The Peugeot of Marcus Gronholm dominated the contest but, thanks to
a late technical problem that befell his team mate Harri Rovanpera,
Richard Burns (Subaru) and Colin McRae (Ford) claimed podium places
respectively. Ford-Pirelli now shares the lead in the World
Manufacturers’ Championship. Group N was won by Marcos Ligato while
second placed Pozzo extended his series lead.

New Zealand 21-23 September Gravel

A new chapter in Pirelli’s continually successful gravel
performance saw Richard Burns (Subaru) secure a hard-fought win
from Colin McRae with fourth place going to Carlos Sainz (both with
Ford). Thanks to this result Ford leads the Manufacturers
championship, while McRae is tied with Tommi Makinen at the head of
the drivers’ fight.

San Remo 5-7 October Asphalt

The return to asphalt from gravel brought positive results for both
performance and reliability with the PZero range proving especially
competitive on the wet final stages where both Carlos Sainz (4th
overall) and Francois Delecour took stage wins. The result saw
Colin McRae retain his share of the overall championship lead and
Ford extend its advantage in the makes’ series. Gabriel Pozzo was
confirmed as Pirelli’s seventh successive Group N World
Champion

Corsica 19-21 October Asphalt

Hard start for Pirelli: Sainz retired after SS2, the same one which
saw Burns and Colin McRae over a minute late after the Subaru
driver went briefly off the road and the Ford ace hit a rock. Good
performance for the PZero asphalt range of tyres, which allows
Colin and the Pirelli-fitted Ford to face the last two events of
the season from their leadership in the World Championship
standings.

Australia 1-4 November Gravel

Great Britain 23-25 November Gravel