Now it’s our turn. Rally Italia Sardegna will be held this weekend, the sixth round of the 2023 WRC and the only one on Italian soil on the calendar for this season of the World Rally Championship. It will be an important event (on a sporting level) for the nation, because the 20th edition of the Sardinian rally that will start on June 1st will be.
For the Italian rally, which as usual will be held on the dirt roads of northern Sardinia, Pirelli has decided to bring the following tyres.
Pirelli Scorpion KX: these are the tires designed for Rally1 cars to be used in gravel events. They have already been used on two other occasions this year: at the Mexico Rally in March and at the Portugal Rally held in May. This rubber will be available in Hard and Soft versions.
Hard: this compound will be considered this weekend as the “prime”, i.e. the one on which the riders can count the most, also in terms of the number available. These compounds will be used more in the long special stages, such as the Monte Lerno which will be 49.9 kilometers long in its long version designed for this edition. The Softs will instead be considered the “options”, excellent on sandy and slippery terrain. They will probably turn out to be perfect for short stages, not very winding and with a surface that is not too demanding.
Rally Italia Sardegna 2023: tire allocation for crews
Each driver at the wheel of a Rally1 car will be able to count on a maximum of 32 tires to use over the course of the 19 tests scheduled between Thursday and Sunday.
24 of these will be the first, i.e. the Hard. The remaining 8 will be the options, or the Softs. There will also be 4 rubbers dedicated to Thursday morning’s Shakedown.
Rally Italia Sardegna 2023: Testoni’s comment
Terenzio Testoni, Pirelli’s rally activity manager, commented on the event which will open on 1 June in Olbia as follows: “We know Rally Italia Sardegna very well, also because it is here where we developed our off-road tires the most. But this fund must never be underestimated for the dangers it can hide, totally different from the two dirt rallies previously held during this first part of the season”.
“I’m very curious to see how the riders will tackle such a long and demanding test as the one at Monte Lerno and, in general, the whole day of Friday which, as always, promises to be decisive for the whole race”.
“Hard tires are a must in Sardinia, but the extra grip guaranteed by the soft tires offers the teams an interesting option for many special stages”.
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