Article Posted 22/10/2009

Concerns over excessive tyre wear on the weekend’s Rally GB have eased due to heavy rain on the opening day of the race for the final round the World Rally Championship.

The drivers will be using Pirelli Scorpion soft compound tyres on the Cardiff based event and five time world champion Sebastien Loeb had been among those worried by the prolonged dry spell which had left the Welsh roads hard and abrasive.

Loeb and his fellow title protagonist Mikko Hirvonen would both have been relieved to see the dry weather come to an end.

“The tyre could have been close,” said Loeb. “The roads would have been hard for the tyre, but I’m sure it will rain more. It’s okay.”

Pirelli’s motorsport manager Mario Isola pointed out that the tyre has been tested in far hotter and more abrasive conditions and survived, but the onset of autumn in the valleys will offer Hirvonen and Loeb, and the rest of the drivers on Britain’s round of the WRC a chance to focus on their driving rather than on conserving their tyres.

Citroen Junior Team driver Conrad Rautenbach said: “The first few hours of the race were great, it was really sunny and nice warm weather, but then around lunchtime when we headed on up to the military stages, the mist came down and the rain started.

“Last year, in the snow and ice, it was tough up there,” he said. “You couldn’t really get a good chance to have a go in those stages on the first day of the event, but this time it’s fantastic.

The drivers finish their race today and shakedown starts tomorrow morning, with the main event getting underway with a ceremonial start in Cardiff tomorrow evening.