Round two of the 2015 Rally World Championship provided testing conditions for the four tyre suppliers – Michelin, Dmack, Pirelli and Hankook – allowing tyre characteristics to take centre stage. Ice, fresh and melting snow, mud and frozen dirt, meant that studs were employed for winter traction – 384 in each Michelin X-Ice North 3, for example. However, this meant that carrying extra tyres made for faster running, Jacques Morelli, manager of Michelin’s World Rally Championship programme, explained.