paul
Team Owner
http://www.wrc.com/en_GB/News/NewsDetail/2...urfacerally.htm
Pirelli's rally manager has said he would be happy to see WRC events run to a mixed surface format, as the upcoming San Remo event once was.
His comments come shortly after the Rallye Deutshland was criticised for the variation in its stage surfaces. Although in theory an asphalt event, the second leg was based in the Baumholder military complex, where the tarmac surface was covered in mud and gravel. Comments like "this is the Safari of asphalt rallies" and "there are about 27 different surface changes in every kilometre" abounded.
Yet Fiore Brivio, rally manager for the Pirelli tyre company, says he would be happy to see proper mixed surface events put back into the calendar. Until recently San Remo had both gravel and asphalt legs.
"I miss the old San Remo Rally and the challenge of the mixed surface," said Brivio. "I hope that it is in someone's mind to consider a return to a mixed surface rally. Portugal used to be like that and so was Catalunya but we don't have any events with two different surfaces anymore and I think it is a shame not to have at least one."
Brivio suggested that mixed surface rallies would bring an end to the dominance of specialist drivers on asphalt events. Peugeot's Gilles Panizzi has won the San Remo event for the past two years and is currently regarded as being near impossible to beat on tarmac. His wins in France and Spain this year briefly put the Frenchman into a title challenging position, even though he has never even made the podium on a gravel WRC event.
"Mixed surface events stop the temptation to build a specific car for asphalt events," said Brivio, who is used to seeing Subaru and Ford drivers on Pirellis struggle to beat the Peugeot/Michelin on asphalt. "I think that would help bring down the costs as well as stop the complaints about special drivers and special cars for certain events."
Pirelli's rally manager has said he would be happy to see WRC events run to a mixed surface format, as the upcoming San Remo event once was.
His comments come shortly after the Rallye Deutshland was criticised for the variation in its stage surfaces. Although in theory an asphalt event, the second leg was based in the Baumholder military complex, where the tarmac surface was covered in mud and gravel. Comments like "this is the Safari of asphalt rallies" and "there are about 27 different surface changes in every kilometre" abounded.
Yet Fiore Brivio, rally manager for the Pirelli tyre company, says he would be happy to see proper mixed surface events put back into the calendar. Until recently San Remo had both gravel and asphalt legs.
"I miss the old San Remo Rally and the challenge of the mixed surface," said Brivio. "I hope that it is in someone's mind to consider a return to a mixed surface rally. Portugal used to be like that and so was Catalunya but we don't have any events with two different surfaces anymore and I think it is a shame not to have at least one."
Brivio suggested that mixed surface rallies would bring an end to the dominance of specialist drivers on asphalt events. Peugeot's Gilles Panizzi has won the San Remo event for the past two years and is currently regarded as being near impossible to beat on tarmac. His wins in France and Spain this year briefly put the Frenchman into a title challenging position, even though he has never even made the podium on a gravel WRC event.
"Mixed surface events stop the temptation to build a specific car for asphalt events," said Brivio, who is used to seeing Subaru and Ford drivers on Pirellis struggle to beat the Peugeot/Michelin on asphalt. "I think that would help bring down the costs as well as stop the complaints about special drivers and special cars for certain events."
