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The MICHELIN LTX Force H4 and S5 Return As the FIA World Rally Championship Switches Back to Gravel Action

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The MICHELIN LTX Force H4 and S5 Return As the FIA World Rally Championship Switches Back to Gravel Action MEDIA INFORMATION 2017 World Rally Championship (WRC) Round 5: Rally Argentina The MICHELIN LTX Force H4 and S5 return as the FIA World Rally Championship switches back to gravel action After the wintry Rallye Monte-Carlo, snowy Sweden, Mexico’s high-altitude tracks and the year’s first pure asphalt skirmishes in Corsica, the 2017 World Rally Championship kicks off a sequence of gravel rounds this week with the sandy Rally Argentina in the hills and mountains near Cordoba and Villa Carlos Paz. In contrast to Rally Mexico, where the engines were starved of up to 100 horsepower due to the high altitudes, the drivers will benefit this time from the cars’ full performance potential. The WRC and WRC2 stars alike face a completely new challenge in South America, therefore, and Michelin Motorsport will be there to help its partners be as competitive as possible. Because of the dominant mild weather at this time of the year and the Cordoba region’s soft stages, Rally Argentina is ideal terrain for the new soft MICHELIN LTX Force S5 which made its debut last month in Mexico. Compared with its predecessor, the compound employed for its tread has been modified to cater for the additional performance boasted by the latest-generation World Rally Cars. The new MICHELIN LTX Force S5 (S = ‘soft’) features even greater consistency and improved longevity, with wear rates that are 20 percent lower than last season. Yet this new tyre reaches its working temperature just as quickly, and that promises to be a key parameter in Argentina. The overall length of the 2017 Rally Argentina is 1,417.98km, which includes 18 special stages totalling 357.59km. “This year’s route is very similar to that of last season,” notes Jacques Morelli, the manager of Michelin’s WRC programme. “San Agustin [SS2] is back on the menu but the more experienced drivers will have prior knowledge of it. The first day’s action will take crews south of Cordoba where the stages tend to have a hard, sandy base, but there are pitfalls which aren’t always easy to spot during recce. Saturday’s run is a mix of sandy and rough terrain, and we might well see the drivers combine the harder H4 version of the MICHELIN LTX Force with the S5 in their bid to optimise grip and performance. Sunday’s programme features two legendary stages, namely El Condor-Copina and Mina Clavero Cesare which climb higher into the mountains where the temperature is likely to be cooler, so crews will need to manage their allocation of S5 tyres very carefully. Finally, the phenomenon of ‘road sweeping’ associated with Friday’s tests could play a key role in the weekend’s outcome.” Didier Laurent – [email protected] – Phone: +33.6.75.60.50.62 Alessandro Barlozzi – [email protected] – Phone: +33.6.42.23.55.93 The MICHELIN LTX Force H4 and LTX Force S5 The MICHELIN LTX Force H4 (hard compound) and MICHELIN LTX Force S5 (soft) were designed to cover the broad range of conditions encountered on the FIA World Rally Championship’s gravel rounds and their specification was registered with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) prior to the start of the season. Because of the exceptional spectrum of temperatures, types of ground (soft, hard, rough, smooth, etc.) and weather (rain, dry, dust, mud) drivers can expect to face in the course of the year, the MICHELIN LTX Force H4 and S5 have to be extremely versatile. They consequently combine strength, résistance to wear and the consistent delivery of performance over even the longest loops of stages on events that range from hot and sunny, such as Rally Australia, to muddy Wales Rally GB. Michelin Motorsport’s engineers benefited from the company’s long and successful association with the FIA World Rally Championship to design these latest-generation gravel tyres. The lessons learned on the stages provide invaluable data for the development of Michelin road tyres, in keeping with the brand’s policy of using motorsport as a proving ground for new technologies. The MICHELIN LTX Force S4/H4 (for WRC crews) Number of tyres available for Rally Argentina: 600 Number of tyres per driver: 28 (including 4 for shakedown) from an overall allocation of 28 S4s (soft compound) and 16 H5s (hard) The MICHELIN LTX Force S80/H90 (for WRC2 crews) Number of tyres available for Argentina: 260 Number of tyres per driver: 26 (including 4 for shakedown) from an overall allocation of 26 S80s (soft compound) and 16 H90s (hard) Michelin’s staff for the 2017 Rally Argentina Michelin has a staff of 17 in Argentina: • Pascal Couasnon (Director, Michelin Motorsport) • Jacques Morelli (FIA WRC programme manager) • 2 coordinators • 4 team advisors • 4 fitters • 1 press officer Didier Laurent – [email protected] – Phone: +33.6.75.60.50.62 Alessandro Barlozzi – [email protected] – Phone: +33.6.42.23.55.93 .
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