Pirelli, Dmack, Kumho, Dunlop to supply British Historic Rally

Pirelli, Kumho and Dmack have announced that they will supply tyres to the 2013 MSA British Historic Rally Championship, following the competition’s move to an open choice era. Dunlop, the supplier to the UK’s premier historic rally series for the past four years will continue to make its tyres available to the championship, which takes in both gravel and asphalt events across the country. The championship features old-school rally machinery dating from the 1950s to the 1980s. “We firmly believe this is the right time to open up the tyre supply situation,” said championship manager Simon Marks. “More tyre manufacturers are now in a position to supply the historic market and our competitors will now be able to choose between four excellent suppliers.”

Pirelli says it will bring a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise from several rally series including the FIA World Rally Championship, in which Pirelli was exclusive supplier from 2008-2010 and the MSA British Rally Championship, where Pirelli has been the series’ official tyre supplier since 2007.

Pirelli UK motorsport’s Matthew Corby said: “It’s fantastic to hear that the BHRC organisers have approved Pirelli as a tyre supplier for 2013. Pirelli has been looking to expand into the historic category for quite some time, and I firmly believe that competitors will benefit from being able to choose from our wide range of tyres and sizes available.”
 
Corby added: “Pirelli’s continuous involvement in the World Rally Championship dates back to its inception in 1973, and in that time Pirelli has recorded 25 championship titles. The experience gained in the WRC, as well as the WRC Academy and the British Rally Championship in recent years, means that our technical development and experience in rallying is second to none.”

Dmack has been involved at the pinnacle of world rallying, since it started supplying tyres to the FIA’s World Rally Championship alongside Michelin in 2011. The brand says it will offer an extensive range of gravel and asphalt options in sizes from 13” to 15” to cover the majority of British historic competitors.
 
Dick Cormack, Dmack motorsport director, said: “We welcome the decision from the BHRC organisers to move away from a control tyre and feel this move will ultimately offer greater value-for-money for competitors and more competition within the championship. Our focus has always been to develop affordable products which deliver high performance and our experience in the world rally championship will help ensure our range is favourable to historic competitors.”