Pirelli Star Driver Kicks off for 2010

The second season of the Pirelli Star Driver programme gets underway on April 15 at the Rally of Turkey, and Pirelli Star Driver supervisor Phil Short anticipates his fresh charges’ first taste of World Rally Championship action will teach them plenty. “I’ve already suggested to them that they treat the Rally of Turkey as an extended test session, to get more distance and time in the car under their belts – and to think about bringing the cars to the finish with a solid result,” he advised, adding: “You don’t learn too much when your car is on a trailer.”

Short believes the first hurdle facing the new drivers is getting to know the cars they drive, and adds that working with their new team will also be a new experience. As to what they should expect from the Rally of Turkey, the Pirelli Star Driver supervisor says “settling into a good rhythm on this first event is a good objective for them.” Information available to Short suggests the stages in this year’s Turkish leg of the championship, which follows a vastly different route to that used in 2008, will offer faster and more flowing stages. Short anticipates the stages will not be as tough as last time round but still a challenge, and wet weather is a real possibility at this time of the year.

The ceremonial start to the event takes place on Thursday (15 April) in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square, between the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia. From then on, it’s out of Europe and into Asia for the stages. Short says a lot has been learnt from the initial Pirelli Star Driver programme in 2009, and this knowledge has been used to initiate improvements on the crews’ training, testing and approach to this year’s events.

“The Ralliart Italia team have put a lot of effort over the winter into improving the strength and reliability of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs we’ll be using. We have also registered all five crews for the Production Car World Rally Championship, which should raise the profile of Pirelli Star Driver within the FIA WRC itself,” Short added. “This should increase the awareness of what we are trying to do here, so that the scheme can develop further in the future.”

The drivers in this year’s programme are Nick Georgiou/Joseph Matar (car 36), Peter Horsey/Moses Matovu (car 37), Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (car 38), Alex Raschi/Rudy Pollet (car 39), Ott Tänak/Kuldar Sikk (car 40).