Norway : BFGoodrich - PreviewThe WRC continues its Nordic trail Norway will this weekend host a round of the World Rally Championship for the very first time. Based in Hamar, which is situated between Lillehammer and the capital Oslo and which previously hosted the 1994
Winter Olympics, Rally Norway's slot in the calendar comes just days after the 2007 championship's second round in neighbouring Sweden. The Solberg brothers will be on home ground, while Grönholm and Loeb will be looking to continue their feud in the land of the Vikings.
This year, then, world rallying's elite will travel to the land of the Vikings for the very first time as Rally Norway takes its place alongside two other classic Scandinavian fixtures, the 'Swedish' and Rally Finland. With a total of three of the 16 rounds on its soil, Scandinavia will consequently serve as backdrop for more than 18% of the calendar. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, given that home-grown drivers account for half the field of factory drivers in 2007!
Scheduled just one week after the Swedish Rally and based a mere 200km from the Karlstad-based event's wintry stages, Rally Norway also takes place on icy, snowy tracks, although their profile is very different. Hedmark County, where the '94 Lillehammer Games were held, is far more mountainous than the Swedish Värmland, and its stages are accordingly twistier, steeper and narrower than those found across the border.
These conditions promise to make even bigger demands on the tyres and studs. "Twistier stages mean more hard cornering and therefore more punishment for the studs.
The choice of 'stud lengths' promises to be decisive once again," says BFGoodrich's Chief Technician Patrick Letort.
BFGoodrich's partners will have the same type of tyres as those seen in Sweden, namely the g-Force Ice and its 384 studs of a maximum length of 2cm.
"With two wintry rounds in as many weeks, this is a key phase of the 2007 WRC and will put the spotlight on the performance and durability of our studded tyres," adds Matthieu Bonardel, BFGoodrich's Rallies Manager.
g-Force Ice
g-Force Ice long stud: ice + snow
g-Force Ice normal stud: full ice
g-Force Ice short stud: ice and frozen stones
Features: the narrow dimension of this tyre serves to increase the pressure on the contact patch and thereby help the studs bite through the upper crust of ice or snow. The asymmetric tread pattern favours the action of the studs along straights (longitudinal blocks) and through the corners (oblique blocks). The open tread pattern helps clear fresh snow and slush.
Tyre quota for priority drivers A maximum of 66 tyres of which 45 may be used (tyres nominated on February 1).
Only one type of pattern authorised.
Source BFGoodrich
