Pirelli 1-2-3 in Mexico Rally

Pirelli-shod cars swept the board in the Rally Mexico in mid-March, taking all three podium places.
Out in front was the Subaru of Petter Solberg, who led from start to finish for his second victory of the year. He won six out of the 14 all-gravel stages, finishing 34.5 seconds ahead of the Pirelli-equipped Peugeots of Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin.

Two other cars with Pirelli tyres – both Mitsubishis and driven by Harri Rovanpera and Gilles Panizzi – finished fifth and eighth, making it five Pirelli drivers in the top eight finishers.

Pirelli took three different types of tyre to the event, which the teams had to nominate in advance to comply with World Rally Championship regulations. Subaru used the latest version of the P Zero XR3 tyre on the hard surfaces of the first day, switching to the more open pattern of the KP2 tyre on days two and three, believing the tyre to be better suited to disperse the loose gravel found on these latter stages.
Peugeot used the KP2 pattern throughout, while Mitsubishi opted for the more closed pattern K2 tyre on the opening day.

Solberg’s win gave Pirelli its 137th WRC victory and moved him to the top of the drivers’ championship. Peugeot currently heads up the constructors’ series.