MEDIA INFORMATION
FIA World Rally Championship 2016 Rally Sweden – 2nd race
MICHELIN X-Ice North 3 : a special tyre for the Nordic event of the season
Normally, Rally Sweden is the only round of the FIA World Rally Championship to take place in totally wintry conditions. It is generally also the event which poses the fewest problems in terms of tyre choice. This year, however, the MICHELIN X-Ice North 3 and its 384 studs will need to deliver in conditions that are far from traditional.
After the wide variety of stages featured on last month’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, the Swedish fixture tends to offer a more uniform terrain, with iced-over gravel tracks and, very often, snowy lanes lined by snow walls on which the drivers tend to lean when cornering.
This time round, abnormally mild weather (zero degrees to almost 10°C in places) and heavy rain over the past week or so have made a certain number of the initially-planned stages impracticable.
The organisers have consequently been compelled to shorten their event which will now feature just 13 stages instead of 21, a decision that has slashed the total competitive distance from a little more than 300km to 241km, and the overall route length from 1,500km to 1,396km.
This evening’s originally-scheduled super-special at Karlstad’s hippodrome was the first victim of this choice, which means that competitive action will finally begin with SS2 – Torsby, a little longer than 16km - at 8:51am Friday.
Friday’s SS5 and SS6, Saturday’s SS11, SS13 and SS15 and Sunday’s SS18 and SS19 have all been chopped, too. ‘Vergasen’, famous for the Colin’s Crest leap where Belgium’s Thierry Neuville jumped 44 metres in his Hyundai i20 WRC in 2015, is still on the menu, though, as is Sunday’s Power Stage (‘Värmullsåsen’) prior to the finish celebrations back in Karlstad.
In spite of the thaw, however, portions of ice have survived and competitors will still need to be abe to count on their studded tyres – the MICHELIN X-Ice North 3 in the case of Michelin’s partners - to provide the necessary grip through the Swedish and Norwegian forests.
Says Jacques Morelli, manager of Michelin’s WRC programme: “Although the weather is very different and has caused the organisers to revise the programme of this year’s Rally Sweden, the use of the MICHELIN X-Ice North 3 is justifiable. Its tread pattern is sufficient to compete safely in thawing and even muddy conditions, while its studs will come into their own on the sections where there is lingering ice and snow, even though they face more of an ideal due to the softer going. It can’t be overlooked that there is a higher risk of the studs coming free of the tread blocks on unfrozen ground, and that the tyres will be less efficient on ice. Furthermore, the numerous ruts reported after recce could be difficult to negotiate, especially at the speeds the cars reach on this event. The tyre quotas have been raised from 24 to 28 for the WRC crews, and from 22 to 26 for the WRC2 drivers.”
MEDIA INFORMATION
The MICHELIN X-Ice North 3
The 384 steel and tungsten studs which equip each MICHELIN X-Ice North 3 tyre measure 20mm in length, a maximum of 7mm of which may protrude from the tyre. Ahead of the 2015 Rally Sweden, Michelin Motorsport’s engineers developed a new compound for the X-Ice North 3 which optimises the manner in which the studs strike the ground. Meanwhile, its open tread pattern makes it a particularly versatile solution, especially given this year’s conditions.
Size: 195/65R15 (15/65-15) Width: 195 mm Sidewall height: 125 mm Wheel diameter: 15 inches Tread pattern: asymmetrical and directional (a right- and a left-hand tyre) Number of studs per tyre: 384 (20 per linear decimetre, in compliance with FIA regulations) Overall stud length: 20 mm Visible stud length: 6.5 mm Stud weight: 4 grams Optimal operating window: minus 30°C to 0°C Total number of tyres available for the 2016 Rally Sweden: 790 (WRC: 370 / WRC2: 420)
Michelin’s team in Sweden
Michelin’s has a total staff of 17 for the 2016 Rally Sweden: - 1 manager - 1 marketing director - 2 coordinators - 4 technical team advisers - 8 fitters - 1 press officer