From Portugal to ArgentinaPart two of BFGoodrich's look back on the first half of the season.
Victory for
Sebastien Loeb in Mexico gave the new C4 WRC/BFGoodrich its first success on gravel before the World Rally Championship returned to Europe for the new-look
Rally de Portugal which has switched to the Algarve region in the south of the country. With on-site testing prohibited, BFGoodrich had little information about the terrain and the conditions encountered during the first loop of stages came as a big surprise! The tracks were carpeted with a top-coating of dirt on top of a hard-packed base which proved extremely hard-wearing on the tyres. It was consequently necessary to 're-cut' the tread patterns in a bid to clear the layer of loose gravel without removing too much rubber and running the risk of the compromising the tyres' durability.
The following day's challenge was mud after overnight rain left the morning's three stages treacherously slippery. Loeb opted for soft compound g-Force Gravels, while Grönholm put his faith in the same tyres but with a medium compound. Over the 30km of the day's first stage, it was practically level-pegging between the two drivers but Loeb was then fastest over the next two tests. By the end of the opening loop, the Frenchman had pulled out a lead of 15 seconds over the Finn. The stages of the second pass had had time to dry and, quite logically, Loeb switched to the hard compound option but Grönholm preferred to stay with the medium compound.
The afternoon allowed
Sebastien Loeb to all but secure the 31st world class win of his career, while the Ford Focus WRC06 drivers were given a five-minute time penalty for a technical infringement.
As the calendar moved on to Argentina, the scrap between Loeb and Grönholm was a thrilling affair from start to finish despite, or possibly because of the cancellation of Leg 1 following delays incurred during the long return trip back to Villa Carlos Paz after the ceremonial start and first super-special in Buenos Aires. A mere 20 or so seconds split the two champions after the long second leg, so Sunday's two attempts at the classic Mina Clavero and El Condor tests were potentially a chance for the Ford star to reverse the trend.
As the temperature dipped to little more than 10°C at altitude, the Citroën drivers chose extra-soft g-Force Gravels for the damp conditions, but Grönholm and Hirvonen had already used their quota of extra-soft tyres for the super-specials and the Ford Focus drivers were forced to set out for the final leg on soft rubber. For sure, the French team's judicious choice alone does not explain Loeb's win, but it is interesting to note that Chris Atkinson (Subaru) put in some stunning times and Dani Sordo succeeded in posting two fastest times on the Sunday, a performance that illustrated the potential of the '8-' extra-soft g-Force Gravel in the poor conditions of the 80km final leg.
The new g-Force Gravel 10
In contrast to Rally Argentina, which isn't too hard on tyres, the next two events on the calendar were the hardest wearing of the season. In Sardinia, and above all Greece, the second passes were particularly punishing for the tyres (hotter temperatures, cut-up roads, buried rocks, higher speeds, etc.). To avoid the sight of cars returning to the service park on bald tyres and rates of wear in excess of 100%, BFGoodrich's development team introduced the new g-Force Gravel 10 which, thanks to its extra-hard compound, is 20% more resilient than the 'conventional' g-Force Gravel '9+' without that having any adverse effect on performance.
All three of BFGoodrich's factory partner teams nominated the new tyre for Sardinia, although only the Subaru drivers ran it on the Friday afternoon. Alas, neither of them was able to pass on eagerly awaited feedback to BFGoodrich's staff since Petter Solberg began to suffer brake trouble while lying 3rd, and Chris Atkinson clouted a big rock. After choosing medium compound g-Force Gravels for the opening loop, the BFGoodrich-shod front-runners preferred to stay with the more familiar '9+' hard compound for the afternoon. Only Ford's Mikko Hirvonen chose to sample the new g-Force Gravel 10 on Saturday afternoon. With a podium finish apparently in his pocket, he saw it as an opportunity to prepare for the forthcoming Acropolis Rally. Loeb's mishap on the Sunday morning (an off while leading) threw the Drivers' championship wide open prior to what tyre manufacturers see as the most feared encounter of the season: the Acropolis Rally.
In the absence of Cyprus and Turkey from this year's calendar, the Acropolis stands out as the roughest fixture of the season and the daunting 48.88km stage is sure to hold a special place in the memories of BFGoodrich's technicians as one of the toughest tests of tyres ever seen in the WRC. To help overcome the 48.88km ribbon of rocks, stones and gravel, BFGoodrich gave its partners a broad choice of enduring tyres, from the new extra-hard compound g-Force Gravel 10 (215/65/15), to the wider g-Force Gravel H1 (1cm wider: 225/60/15) in a choice of '9+' hard and '10' extra-hard compounds and the g-Force Gravel H2 (225/60/15) which won the Greek round in the hands of Marcus Grönholm (Ford) in 2006. The latter, however, was not used at all this year.
Gronholm's gamble
The outcome in Greece was essentially decided by the second visit to the infamous 48.88km Aghii Theodhori stage for which Marcus Grönholm took a bold gamble by going back out on the hard compound '9+' option he had chosen for the morning's run. "We didn't have any g-Force Gravel 10s in our quota and we believed that there was still too much surface gravel around to warrant switching to the H1," says Christian Loriaux, Ford M-Sport Technical Director. "We agreed on the '9+' and defended our choice with Malcolm Wilson and, above all, Marcus. Marcus was immediately on our side and knew exactly where he would need to look after his tyres and where he would be able to push. We put two spares in the car just in case and crossed our fingers. I was confident, but when Hirvonen punctured 10km from the finish on the same tyres, I began to fear the worst! But then the news came through that Sébastien was in trouble so we asked Marcus to ease off over the final kilometres."
BFGoodrich's development specialists, who were waiting at the Stop Control, also had cause to fear for Grönholm's chances when they saw the state of the tyres of Aris Vovos, atthew Wilson and Mikko Hirvonen - who were all on the '9+' compound - at the finish. In all logic, Marcus seemed destined to suffer the same fate, but the Finn managed his tyres to perfection over the stage's 48km, unlike
Sebastien Loeb. The Citroën camp had gone for the wide H1, a more enduring product and also stronger than the 'conventional' tyre. However, the Frenchman asked too much of his tyres and ended up collecting a puncture 6km from the finish. Subaru's preference, meanwhile, went to the extra hard g-Force Gravel 10, which was practically the only reasonable choice inasmuch as the Impreza was harder on its tyres than its rivals. In the end, despite breaking a damper on the stage, Petter Solberg posted the second quickest time...
Coming soon...
At the season's midpoint, Marcus Grönholm tops the Drivers' championship with a cushion of nine points over
Sebastien Loeb. The action is scheduled to resume on the Ford driver's home ground, in Finland, although the four asphalt rallies that feature in the latter part of the calendar could well play more into the hands of the Frenchman who is unbeaten on sealed surfaces since January 2006. In the Manufacturers' standings, with Grönholm and Hirvonen finishing regularly on the podium, Ford has a solid 28-point advantage in the provisional standings and its new Focus WRC07 is due to make its debut in Finland. However, the speed of the Citroën C4 and its drivers on asphalt and their record of making well-advised tyre choices in changeable weather conditions could easily put them back in the chase. At the same time, it could well be Ford's satellite outfit - Stobart VK/BFGoodrich, which boasts Henning Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala in its ranks, both of whom are capable of splitting works the Fords and Citroën C4s on the loose - that decides the outcome of the 2007 Manufacturers' championship.
Season highlights
1. Dani Sordo causes a sensation on the Monte Carlo Rally, but the event is finally won by
Sebastien Loeb (Citroën/BFGoodrich).
2. BFGoodrich inaugurates a new studding process. Loeb makes a poor tyre choice on Saturday in Sweden and Marcus Grönholm (Ford/BFGoodrich) goes on to collect the fifth win of his career in Karlstad.
3. A surprising but emphatic win for Mikko Hirvonen (Ford/BFGoodrich) on Rally Norway which featured on the WRC calendar for the first time. Deep snow and little grip.
4. Loeb, Citroën and BFGoodrich claim successive wins on gravel in Mexico, Portugal and Argentina. The Rally de Portugal proved particularly hardwearing for the tyres.
5. BFGoodrich launches the new g-Force Gravel 10. Loeb crashes out in Sardinia to hand victory and also first place in the Drivers' standings to Grönholm.
6. The BFGoodrich-shod Subarus figure momentarily on top on the Acropolis Rally but Grönholm triumphs thanks to a bold tyre choice, while Solberg finishes on the podium.
7. Twentieth anniversary celebrations for run-flat mousse in Greece. This revolutionary system was first seen on the 1987 Acropolis Rally. This year it ensured that no BFGoodrich drivers were halted in their tracks by any of the 65 punctures recorded by BFGoodrich!
Press Release BFGoodrich
