Michelin

MICHELIN – Rally Argentina 2011 WRC preview

The Rally Argentina, round six of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, takes place in the country’s province of Cordoba and features essentially sandy stages which are not excessively hardwearing on tyres. They can however conceal treacherously sharp stones. The southern-hemisphere autumn is coming to an end, but air temperatures in excess of 20°C are possible.

The 2011 Rally Argentina’s 1,457.08-kilometre route features 378.15km of competitive action, including two particularly challenging mixed ‘asphalt/gravel’ stages.
Indeed, SS4/7 ends with 20km after a loop of some 58km on gravel. Even more daunting, SS8/12 ends with 13km of asphalt, including a fast 10-kilometre downhill section before the loop continues with a further 58km of loose stage action. Competitors will have to tackle both attempts at this stage on soft compound MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross S1 gravel tyres.

To alleviate the difficulty created by this mixed-surface format, especially in the case of SS8/12, the organisers have decided to incorporate a so-called remote service zone after each visit. This will provide crews with an opportunity to change tyres. MICHELIN will take 100 wheels to these two service halts. The tyres that will go on here will count towards the total quota of 36 tyres allowed per crew for the weekend, as stipulated by the regulations. This will need teams to think about a tyre management strategy.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA (May 5-8, 2011)
1. Loeb/Elena (FRA/MON, Citroën DS3 WRC / Michelin), 3h45m40.9s
2. Hirvonen/Lehtinen (FIN, Ford Fiesta RS WRC / Michelin), +11.2s
3. P. Solberg/Patterson (NOR/GBR, Citroën DS3 WRC / Michelin), +23.8s
4. Ogier/Ingrassia (FRA, Citroën DS3 WRC / Michelin), +1m31.5s
5. Ostberg/Andersson (NOR/SUE, Ford Fiesta RS WRC / Michelin), +2m42.6s
6. Sordo/Del Barrio (ESP, Mini John Cooper Works / Michelin), +3m27.6s
7. Tanak/Sikk (EST, Ford Fiesta S2000), +7m10.9s
8. Hanninen/Markkula (FIN, Skoda Fabia S2000), +7m37.6s
9. Wilson/Martin (GBR, Ford Fiesta RS WRC / Michelin), +8m00.4s
10. Prokop/Tomanek (CZ, Ford Fiesta S2000), +11m28.2s

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS (after 5 of 13 rounds)
Drivers 1. Loeb (100 pts). 2. Hirvonen (93). 3. Ogier (81). 4. Latvala (68). 5. P. Solberg (46). 6. Ostberg (38). 7. Wilson (24). 8. Raikkonen (18). 9. Villagra (12). 10. H. Solberg (10). Etc.

Manufacturers 1. Citroën Total WRT (167 pts). 2. Ford Abu Dhabi WRT (150). 3. M-Sport Stobart Ford (61). 4. Petter Solberg WRT (37). 5. Ice 1 Racing (26).

MICHELIN’S OBJECTIVES
One of the main features of the 2011 Rally Argentina is the mix of sandy gravel and asphalt on certain stages. The MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross S1 (soft compound) will consequently need to be particularly versatile. As a consequence, MICHELIN’s objective will be to meet the demands of its partners by providing them with the best performance package possible for the different conditions they will encounter. The strength of the MICHELIN LATITUDE CROSS S1 also promises to play a decisive role in the final outcome, since competitors will come across a high number of stony portions in the course of the event. MICHELIN will also monitor the durability of the LATITUDE Cross S1 which will be making its first competitive appearance this season. The soft compound tread will need to operate in temperatures that could easily exceed 20°C, despite the late autumn date.

Tags: MICHELIN LATITUDE CROSS S1