Rally Ireland 2009 - Drivers face dire weather conditions
The latest forecast for the weekend from Met Eireann promises everything short of plague and pestilence. There is little doubt the conditions will prove challenging, even for some of the best drivers on the planet. The highly-skilled technicians who help keep the cars on the road are already planning for the worst.
"Rally Ireland is one of just two all-asphalt events in the 12-round series but the term 'asphalt' is a misnomer for this event," according to a spokesman for Ford, whose two main drivers Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala are among the favourites to win the event. "The route is a mix of flowing mountain roads and tight, twisty farm lanes. The lanes are bumpy and narrow – often little more than the width of a car – with many surface changes. They are used by farmers on a daily basis and will be dirty."
Although the rally is road-based, the Ford mechanics will be treating it as if it was gravel rather than tarmac.
"With rain highly likely, they could quickly turn muddy and become treacherously slippery, so much so that a more gravel-based car set-up is likely to work better than a traditional asphalt specification."However, the relative shelter afforded by high hedges on most of the course - apart from on exposed mountain roads - is a serious plus.
Rain will be the main enemy - particularly if it is showery or torrential.
"Weight is such an issue with these cars that wet-weather wiper motors are very light and they will find it very difficult to cope with incessant rain," said one mechanic in the service park at Sligo IT yesterday. "The other problem would occur in showery weather because mud would be dragged onto roads that had dried out, making the surface inconsistent. This makes it hell to drive on."
The conditions may not be all that different from Rally Ireland 2007 but the drivers will have at least one less weapon in their armoury - a limited change of tyres. Unlike Formula 1, rally tyres can no longer be switched at the slightest sign of rain or sun to adapt to wet or dry weather.
Also, every rally on this year's world circuit will be limited to pre-stipulated tyres. In the case of Rally Ireland 2009, three trailerloads of Pirelli snow tyres have been shipped in just in case to complement the wet-weather ones that will be used on the cars - tyres for dry conditions were considered irrelevant!
The limited choice of tyres is just one of the ways costs are being contained in the sport. Rallying has not escaped the downturn in the world economy and the introduction of a one-condition-fits-all tyre is just one reflection of this. However, its continued durability and popularity with the main car manufacturers such as Citroen, Audi, Ford and Honda is based on the likely transferability of its technology to family saloon cars in the future."Directors are meeting in boardrooms around the world and having to make very tough decisions right now," said one executive. "If participating in the World Rally Championship was a waste of time for their business, they wouldn't be there."
Photo: www.rallyireland.org
Add our news to your Google homepage!
Add our news to your My Yahoo! homepage!
Subscribe to our RSS news feed
