Pirelli Announces Snow Tyre for WRC Ireland

The opening round of this year’s World Rally Championship kicks off in Ireland at the end of January and Pirelli – the competition’s control tyre supplier – is taking no chances when it comes to selecting the best rubber for climatic conditions. The Italian manufacturer has announced that it will be adding three 40ft truckloads of its Monte Carlo Snow tyre to its usual offering, allowing competitors to find additional grip in the ice – a major problem at 2008’s concluding Welsh rally.

Gordon Noble, the course clerk for Rally Ireland, said that while challenging conditions are a necessity for any world class rallying event, the additional safety offered by the tyre shows that competitors’ wellbeing has been taken into consideration: “Many competitors at Wales Rally GB struggled for grip on the icy roads so it is great that we have this option in place for all entrants in Rally Ireland ’09. The conditions, as in 2007, will be testing for all the drivers but at all times safety must be to the fore. With these provisions in place we will get to see the best of what the world’s top drivers have to offer.”