05/22/2012

MICHELIN LATITUDE CROSS H1 AND S1

Tires for going to hell and back

Greece’s Acropolis Rally may be one of the flagship rounds of the World Rally Championship, yet its searing temperatures (up to 35°C), sharp stones and plumes of dust make it one of the season’s most punishing fixtures. The sixth round of the 2012 WRC seems to have been purposely designed to put the crews, cars and tires to an exceptionally punishing test, with Friday’s leg (May 25) featuring 12 hours from start to the finish, via eight special stages totalling 170km. However, teams will have just one chance to fit fresh tires at the ‘remote service zone’ in Itea!

The combination of aggressive surfaces and high temperatures provides the MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross tire with a particularly tough challenge. Also, in line with the principle promoted by the FIA for 2012, the itinerary of this year’s Acropolis Rally has been lengthened by 450km, which includes 61km of additional stage action. Despite this longer route, the number of tires available for each crew is unchanged compared to 2011.

To cover the 1,670km of the 2012 Acropolis Rally, the drivers will be able to choose from the following quotas:

• 48 MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross H1s (hard compound)
• 10 MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross S1s (soft compound)

They will be able to use six tires per tire-change opportunity (seven), plus a further allocation of six tires for shakedown, making a total of 48 tires. Crews will be able choose between the MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross H1, which is the nominated tire for the rally, and the alternative, softer-compound MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross S1.

A number of strategies are possible for this event. For example, crews may prefer to use their 10 ‘alternative’ MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross S1 tires even if it doesn’t rain, notably on the less hard-wearing stages. However, it will be difficult to plan a strategy based on the number of spare tires that crews decide to carry since Michelin’s recommendation is to have two spares in the car at all times.

Michelin has 1,450 tires in Greece for its partners on the 2012 Acropolis Rally:

• 1,150 MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross H1s
• 300 MICHELIN LATITUDE Cross S1s

Michelin will provide its partners with a comprehensive service thanks to the presence of seven fitters, one coordinator and one manager. Three technicians will be on hand to advise Michelin's partner teams and channel back information to the Technical Department. Jacques MORELLI, the manager of Michelin's rally programmes, is also present to supervise operations from the rally's service park.

Media contact:
Alessandro BARLOZZI - alessandro.barlozzi@fr.michelin.com
Phone: +33 1 78 76 45 20 - Mobile: +33 6 42 23 55 93