Tyre supplier Pirelli say they’ll use the experience they’ve gained in the FIA Formula One World Championship to help support their return to the World Rally Championship next year.
2021 sees the Italian company become the tyre supplier of the WRC for the first time since 2010 following the decision to award them the tenure at the end of last year.
Speaking to WRC.com the company’s head of motorsport, Mario Isola, was adamant that they can use the information they’ve learnt in the F1 paddock to help them develop tyres ready for the rally stage.
He said: “We learned a lot during our time in Formula 1 and we are still learning. We can bring this knowledge back to the WRC in the logistics and the way we are working as well as for the tyres themselves.”
“Pirelli has always had an incredible heritage in rallying, it’s part of the company’s DNA, so to be back there again is really important for us.”
On top of both the day-to-day running of Pirelli’s motorsport commitments, Isola has also been volunteering in his native Italy to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
He went on to add about the company’s plan for 2021: “If I look at F1, we have a lot of work that is done in advance before going on track thanks to simulations. A rally car is different. Simulating the performance on gravel or different surfaces is difficult, but we can make some work around that.”
“It could be a good starting point. But hopefully we can start earlier to test and validate our product.”
The company does already supply both the WRC2 and Junior WRC series’ and Isolabelieves they can use this a starting point ahead of 2021: “We have a product,” He said. “We already supply all WRC 2 cars, so we have a product available for four-wheel drive cars.”
“We are working on the durability of this tyre as well as the performance. We are confident looking forward to next season.”
Pirelli are planning to begin testing on the new tyres for the championship as soon as the COVID-19 lockdown ends around Europe.
