MEDIA INFORMATION Ajaccio, September 30, 2015
FIA 2015 World Rally Championship (WRC) TOUR DE CORSE
The new MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5 and S5 tyres are ready to tackle the toughest asphalt event of the season
Having made their competitive debut in August at ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the new Michelin Pilot Sport H5 (hard) and S5 (soft) asphalt tyres will next take on the abrasive, narrow and sinuous roads of the 2015 Tour de Corse, Corsica (October 1-4).
The Tour de Corse was one of the rounds on the inaugural FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar back in 1973, but it disappeared from the schedule seven years ago in favour of Alsace – the backyard of nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb. Now, however, it is ready to return – with a new route that will take competitors to virtually all four corners of the island.
The city of Ajaccio will host both the ceremonial start on the Thursday, October 1, and the finish on Sunday, October 4, while crews will also stop off at Corte, Bastia, Porto-Vecchio and Propriano – either for a midday remote service or for an overnight halt. Just nine special stages are on the programme (compared with between 17 and 21 for the championship’s other events), but they are very long – often more than 40km – and the total competitive distance is comparable to that of other rallies: 332.73km out of a total of 983.80km, including road liaison sections.
A demanding route for tyres The mountainous Corsican roads are frequently winding and narrow and bordered on one side by the mountain and on the other by awesome drop-offs. The majority of competitors have never tackled them before, meaning accurate pace notes from recce will be more important than ever. The asphalt can also be very abrasive, which will be a real test for the tyres.
For Jacques Morelli, Manager of Michelin Motorsport’s World Rally Championship programme: “The new MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5 and S5 tyres, which made their debut at Rallye Deutschland in August, have already ably demonstrated their excellent performance – but the special stages of the Tour de Corse pose an extra challenge. Grip levels can vary significantly, even during the course of a two-stage loop. Drivers will need to strike a compromise with regard to car set-up, with lower suspension than usual. This means that the quality of the tyres – in a championship that is open to different suppliers – will play a decisive role.”
In support of the tests conducted by their different partner teams, the Michelin Motorsport engineers in charge of the development of the Pilot Sport H5/S5 also travelled to Corsica in order to glean as much technological feedback as possible.
“The Rallye de France-Tour de Corse will be very tricky and will require perfect pace notes. The abrasive terrain obviously needs to be taken into consideration, but it is the occasionally cambered nature of the roads that will truly put the tyres shoulders to the test, particularly given that many of the stages are very long. Fortunately, the technical evolutions that we have brought to the new MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5/S5 mean competitors will benefit from a tread surface that sits flatter on the road, which will minimise wear to the exterior of the tyre. We have similarly modified the rubber compound for higher overall performance. Even if this event promises to be a real challenge, we are entirely confident in the quality of our tyres,” explains Jacques Morelli.
[email protected] MEDIA INFORMATION Ajaccio, September 30, 2015
The MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5 and S5
Size: 225/40 R 18 Width: 225mm Interior diameter: 18 inches Type of pattern: asymmetric, directional Weight: 11.5kg Surfaces: asphalt rallies
Use (‘H5’ version, hard): aggressive/hard-wearing stages, dry ground, temperatures >15°C Use (‘S5’ version, soft): wet or damp conditions <15°C
The MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5 and S5 tyres for the 2015 Tour de Corse
Total number of tyres available in Corsica: 2,260 (810 for the WRC teams, 600 for the WRC2 teams, 600 for the JWRC crews and 150 for the R-GT runners). Quota per driver: 30 tyres per WRC, WRC2 and JWRC driver, 28 per R-GT driver.
Each driver will be able to choose from an overall allocation of 30 H5s and 24 S5s in WRC, WRC2 and JWRC. The R-GT drivers have a total allocation of 28 dry weather tyres and 22 wet weather tyres.
Michelin staff in Corsica
Michelin’s staff in Corsica will comprise 17 people: - 1 manager - 4 team advisers - 2 coordinators - 9 fitters - 1 press officer
Tour de Corse facts and figures
The Tour de Corse came into existence in 1956 and – unusually for the time – its first edition was won by the all-female crew of Gilberte Thirion and Nadège Ferrier in a Renault Dauphine that produced 50hp with a five-speed gearbox.
For many years, the Tour de Corse was nicknamed the ‘Rally of 10,000 Corners’, in deference to its very long and undulating route.
A staple fixture on the French Rally Championship calendar from 1967, six years later the event also joined the World Rally Championship (WRC), which had just been created.
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia – who clinched their second World Rally Championship crown at Rally Australia on September 13 – have never previously competed in Corsica in a World Rally Car. This weekend will also mark Volkswagen Motorsport’s debut on the island.
Two drivers have pulled off the remarkable feat of winning every single stage of the Tour de Corse: Bernard Darniche (in 1970 behind the wheel of an Alpine A110 1600, in the French Rally Championship) and Sébastien Loeb (in 2005, in a Citroën Xsara WRC in the World Rally Championship).