2 months of stopped engines and stopped cars cooled the hot spirits of the WRC, but now, after the 8 weeks of stop, all the protagonists are ready to set fire to the powders and return to compete for the 2022 world titles up for grabs this season .
The WRC 2022 restarts from the Rally of Croatia, the first, true event of the season which takes place entirely on asphalt and the third appointment after the Rallye Monte-Carlo held at the end of January and the Rally of Sweden, which took place at the end of February on the snow.
However, the Rally of Croatia will be a far from trivial race. The weather conditions – cold and possible precipitation – combined with the different levels of grip between the various special stages that make up the event will be very important factors that the riders will be asked to consider and evaluate well in the choice of the tire compound that Pirelli will bring.
“The Rally of Croatia will be the first opportunity to see the potential of hybrid Rally1 cars in a purely asphalt event,” said Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli’s rally activity manager. “Our preparation for this event included the first of three in-season tire tests and the feedback from the top three teams in their tests was positive.”
“The riders discovered last year how difficult the roads are in Crazia, with a mix of different surfaces and conditions, so this should be another very complex event. At the same time it will be an exciting weekend. The difference will be made by the different ones. grip levels of the various roads that make up the 2022 route “.
Drivers who will be behind the wheel of hybrid Rally1 cars will be able to use the following tires:
PZero RA WRC: Pirelli will bring these tires, specially designed for asphalt, to Croatia and will do so in 2 well-defined compounds. The PZero RA WRC HA, or the Hard ones, which will be the main ones, the ones that the drivers will have to consider as first choice, but there will also be the PZero RA WRC SA, or the Soft ones. These have already been used in the season being in the range for the Monte-Carlo Rally held at the end of January.
Cinturato RW: even the hybrid Rally1 will be able to use wet compounds. Rally1 will be able to use the Cinturato RWB.
Pirelli will bring a total of 2,700 tires to Croatia, 700 of these dedicated to the hybrid Rally1 class. Each driver behind the wheel of these cars will have 28 tires available to use over the course of the race weekend, including Shakedown.
Each car will have 54 tires allocated (28 the maximum number that can be used) and are distributed as follows:
28 PZero RA WRC Hard (dry)
18 PZero RA WRC Soft (dry)
8 Cinturato RWB (wet asphalt)
#WRC #Pirelli #Croatia #change #grip #important #variant