Richard Burns drove his Subaru-Pirelli to the 2001
World Rally Drivers’ Championship after finishing 3rd on the Rally
GB that finished in Cardiff this afternoon. It is the 30-year old
Englishman’s first World Crown while it marks the 18th
World Crown for Pirelli, five of which have come from its
technical partnership with Subaru, started in 1994.

Three Pirelli drivers – including Ford-Pirelli’s Colin
McRae and Carlos Sainz – began this final round of the
World Championship with a chance of the Title. McRae crashed
out of the event while leading and Sainz was withdrawn from
fourth place, handing the Manufacturers’ Championship to
Peugeot. With Tommi Makinen (the only other possible
champion) retiring on the opening day, Burns has been able to
cruise to the title and he has not been called upon to show just
how fast he can drive in the slippery Welsh forests.

Pirelli Motorsport Director, Paul Hembery, said
today: ‘Naturally we are delighted to have helped Richard become
the first English World Rally Champion on his home event.
The fact that Pirelli started this rally with three possible
World Champions underlines the consistent performance
of the PZero tyre range this season on all surfaces and in
all conditions.’

Attention now turns to the 2002 WRC season that starts in
less than eight weeks’ time with testing getting underway for both
Monte Carlo and Sweden immediately after this event.
Subaru-Pirelli’s line-up for the season will include
new-signing 4 times world champion Tommi Makinen along with
Petter Solberg, while Markko Martin moves from
Subaru to the Ford-Pirelli team to join Colin
McRae and Sainz.

Sunday November 25

WRC Manufacturers: 1.Peugeot p.106; 2. Ford 86; 3.
Mitsubishi 69; 4. Subaru 66; 5. Skoda 17; 6. Hyundai
17.

WRC Drivers: 1. Burns 44; 2. McRae 42; 3.
Makinen 41; 4. Gronholm 36; 5. Rovanpera 36; 6. Sainz
33.

The 18 Rally World Crowns For Pirelli

The 2 Fia Drivers’ Cups

1977Sandro MunariLancia Stratos

1978Markku AlenFiat 131 Abarth

The Group A World Title

1986Kenneth Eriksson;Volkswagen Golf GTI
16v

Cardiff, November 25, 2001

The Grand Finale in Great Britain! After 13 rounds over four
continents the World Rally Championship reaches its climax on the
gravel roads of Wales for the final contest (November 22-25). This
traditional end of season event offers a very specific challenge
thanks to the unpredictable weather. The event formerly known as
the RAC Rally rarely offers us the kind of dry gravel that
characterises the events in mid-season. More usually there is thick
mud covering roads that vary between damp and very wet, while there
is also the possibility of fog. The ambient temperature is usually
low and can also lead to snow and ice, especially on the early
morning Stages.

This unique range of possible weather and surface conditions
imposes a great challenge on the tyre makers and the PZero gravel
range for this event is designed for maximum versatility to cope
with the variations of surface that can occur even over a single
group of Stages.

Pirelli’s performance in 2001 on this type of surface can be
clearly seen from the 117 stages wins from 171 gravel Stages held
so far this season, along with 4 overall wins on gravel events this
year. The position in the championship is that 3 of the 4 drivers
that can still win the title are using Pirelli tyres; Colin McRae
(Ford), Richard Burns (Subaru) and Carlos Sainz (Ford) in positions
1, 3 and 4 respectively with Tommi Makinen (Mitsubishi) the only
other contender. In the Constructors’ championship, Ford-Pirelli
lies just behind Peugeot in a two-way race for the title on this
final round.

The Pirelli tyre options for Britain are based on the K and KM
tyre, respectively for hard and relatively clean surfaces or damp
with mud and very wet. Additionally, in case of heavy snow, there
is an emergency option of the S-pattern snow tyre, similar to the
one used in Monte Carlo but without studs as the British
regulations preclude this. As usual, all the Pirelli tyres will be
fitted with the latest version of the EMI anti-deflation
system.

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

Around 2000 PZero gravel tyres in two tread patterns (K and KM)
both available in Pirelli’s two softest compound options, 4 and 6,
are available for the Rally of Great Britain, along with the S
pattern snow tyre. This is an emergency option for the
unpredictable weather on this specific event, hence the deviation
from the usual rule demanding just two tread patterns. All are
equipped with Pirelli’s EMI anti-deflation system.

FOR HARD OR CLEAN SURFACES
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type A tyre for essentially hard surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6 (with evolutions)
Description Level 4 is for a dry surface and variable temperatures,
level 6 is for damp or wet roads. Additionally there is a final
evolution version for use where the surface is very soft or the
temperature very low. All the K-pattern tyres are able to be
additionally hand cut.

FOR SOFT OR VERY WET SURFACES
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for smooth surfaces
Compound options 4 and 6 (with evolutions)
Description The compound operation is much the same as for the
K-pattern tyre. The compounds perform similarly in the same
conditions and there is an evolution for especially wet surfaces or
cold conditions.

EMERGENCY OPTION FOR SNOW
S (Size 135/90-16)
Type Tyre for snow covered stages
Compound options one
Description This tyre is designed to provide optimum traction and
steering on Stage where there is a heavy snow coverage of greater
than 60%.

NOTE: The higher the compound number, the softer the
tyre

THE PIRELLI TEAM FOR BRITAIN

3 Ford Focus RS McRae-Grist*, Sainz-Moya*
& Higgins-Thomas
4 Subaru Impreza WRC Burns-Reid*, Solberg-Mills*,
Martin-Park & Arai-Macneall
* Nominated to score manufacturers’ championship points

plus other teams not regularly contesting the World
Rally Championship.

OUR DRIVERS SAID

COLIN McRAE

I’m always confident going into my home event because I know it
better than the rest and I can always go well there. It’s not as
difficult as it was in the past and the stages are generally faster
and more flowing than they used to be but we’ll have to see how
well they stand up to being used twice. Pirelli has always been
very competitive in typical British conditions so Nicky and I are
feeling optimistic about our chances of winning both the rally and
the championship.

CARLOS SAINZ

This will be a very tricky rally as always. Usually it is muddy but
the Pirelli tyres should work well in all of these conditions. If
it is icy, as sometimes happens, then the event can be even more
difficult but Pirelli has the right range for all weather
options.

RICHARD BURNS

I think everyone knows my record on this event over the past few
years and so there’s no reason not to be confident of winning. If
that happens then I’ll also end the season as World Champion so
there’s plenty of motivation. We know exactly what tyres to use in
any of the possible conditions and we’re not expecting any
problems.

PETTER SOLBERG

It’s a very good event and I think it will be a very good rally for
me this year. I’m in a good frame of mind right now and everything
is working well for me. My confidence is coming back with every
event. We’ll see what happens but if I get a clear run then I think
the result could be quite exciting for me. I’m certainly looking to
finish on the podium.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 EVENTS

Monte Carlo 19-21 January Asphalt/snow/ice

A great start to the season for Pirelli in Monte Carlo with the
Ford Focus RS of Colin McRae leading after the second leg before
having to retire with a mechanical problem. The PZero range proved
to be efficient, competitive and wear resistant on all surfaces
including the traditional Monte Carlo asphalt/snow/ice mixture.

Sweden 9-11 February Snow/ice/gravel

The most stage wins but no victory – that was the result for
Pirelli in Sweden. If it were not for the time spent off the road
on the first day, either the Ford of Colin McRae or the Subaru of
Richard Burns would most likely have emerged as the winner along
with the other Ford of long-time leader Carlos Sainz. It was a
superb performance by the new PZero tyres with their Italian-made
studs.

Portugal 9-11 March Gravel

Carlos Sainz drives his Pirelli-equipped Ford very close to
victory, leading with just one stage to go before being narrowly
beaten by Makinen’s Mitsubishi. 4th place (and first points of
2001) for Subaru’s ace Burns. Positive performance for the PZero
gravel range of tyres, always used in the KM6 option with varying
level of hand cuts.

Catalunya 20-25 March Asphalt

Near summer temperatures drastically altered the technical
challenge while the situation was also affected by technical
problems for both Ford and Subaru on day 1. The PZero tyre range
performed well but these problems ensured the results were
inconclusive.

Argentina 4-6 May Gravel

Victory was secured for Pirelli with a dominant performance by the
PZero gravel range of tyres that won all but 4 of the 21 stages.
Colin McRae brought the first win for the Pirelli-Ford partnership
ahead of Subaru driver Richard Burns and an injured but still
impressive Carlos Sainz (Ford-Pirelli). This was a major result for
the K and KM pattern tyres.

Cyprus 1-3 June Gravel

Once more the PZero range of gravel tyres dominated the first four
places on the rally with Colin McRae (Ford-Pirelli) taking his 2nd
win in a row from Burns (Subaru-Pirelli). Carlos Sainz’s Ford
finished third ahead of Toshihiro Arai’s Subaru. This was a major
result for the XR2 tyres used on every stage of the event to secure
this top performance.

Acropolis 15-17 June Gravel

Another gravel victory for Pirelli and the third win in succession
for the Ford Focus WRC of Colin McRae and Nicky Grist. The Pirelli
PZero range’s domination was almost total, winning all but one of
the stages, with Petter Solberg’s Subaru taking second and the Ford
of Francois Delecour fourth. Only late mechanical problems for
Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz denied them podium places.

Safari 20-22 July Gravel

Retirement from the contest by the Subarus of Richard Burns
(suspension), the Fords of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz
(transmission and engine respectively). On the final day the Subaru
of Petter Solberg (wheel bearing) retired to leave Pirelli with
only the 4th placed Ford of Francois Delecour despite winning 7 of
12 stages. Group N saw another dominant performance with Gabriel
Pozzo taking 6th overall.

Finland 24-26 August Gravel

The Peugeot of Marcus Gronholm dominated the contest but, thanks to
a late technical problem that befell his team-mate Harri Rovanpera,
Richard Burns (Subaru) and Colin McRae (Ford), claimed podium
places respectively. Ford-Pirelli now shares the lead in the World
Manufacturers’ Championship. Group N was won by Marcos Ligato while
second placed Gabriel Pozzo extended his series lead.

New Zealand 21-23 September Gravel

A new chapter in Pirelli’s continually successful gravel
performance saw Richard Burns (Subaru) secure a hard-fought win
from Colin McRae (Ford) with his team-mate Carlos Sainz fourth.
Thanks to this result, Ford leads the Manufacturers’ championship
while McRae is tied with Tommi Makinen at the head of the drivers’
title race.

San Remo 5-7 October Asphalt

The return to asphalt from gravel brought positive results for both
performance and reliability with the PZero range proving especially
competitive on the wet final stages where both Carlos Sainz (fourth
overall) and Francois Delecour took stage victories. The result saw
Colin McRae retain his share of the overall championship lead and
Ford extend its advantage in the manufacturers’ series. Gabriel
Pozzo was confirmed as Pirelli’s seventh consecutive Group N World
Champion.

Corsica 19-21 October Asphalt

Once again asphalt provided a tough test for everyone and, as in
San Remo, did little to change the championship situation. Day one
problems prevented Colin McRae (Ford) and Richard Burns (Subaru)
from challenging for the lead but Burns finished 4th ahead of his
team mates in 5th and 6th. Six drivers can still win the title,
including McRae and Carlos Sainz from Ford and Burns from Subaru.
Ford continues to lead the manufacturers championship.

Australia 1-4 November Gravel

The competition was compromised by Colin McRae’s late arrival to
choose his start position for day two and having to run first on
the road. In the end he was able to finish no higher than fifth but
still opened up a two-point lead in the championship. Second place
fell to Richard Burns who drove tactically on the final day to
ensure a chance of the championship title.

Great Britain 22-25 November Gravel

It’s back to gravel for the two concluding contests of the World
Rally Championship. From November 1-4 the championship moves to
Australia for the 13th and penultimate round of a tense
championship that promises drama until the last special stage at
the final round, the Rally of Great Britain on November 23-25.
There are no great changes to the stages of the Australian event,
they will be the same as in the previous years: fast and slippery
thanks to the presence of that special gravel (the famous rolling
stones that present the drivers with a unique and particularly
delicate challenge. Australia is also the last rally of the year
that runs in practically summery conditions not any more the spring
weather seen in September when the event used to be run in its
early days. But the few doubts on what the weather will do will be
met by the Pzero gravel range PZero designed for this specific
event to offer maximum competitiveness and versatility.

For meeting this last requirement, Pirelli is fairly confident. On
the gravel rallies so far this season the PZero tyres have taken
four dominant victories. Last month in New Zealand it was Subaru
(winning with Richard Burns) while Ford have been superb
protagonists. Both the Ford team and Colin McRae lead the
respective Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships, partly due to
dominant wins during the summer in Argentina, Cyprus and
Greece.

For this latest contest, the Pirelli crews for the Australian
gravel will utilise the K and KM tyres respectively for harder and
cleaned up gravel and loose surfaces with the presence of a leyer
of extra gravel. The possibility of rain is rare at this time of
year in Australia but not impossible so the compound options
available will range from level 2 (the hardest) to level 6 (the
softest). The final solution, especially where the loose gravel is
deep and particularly slippery the covers can literally be carved
by hand in the finest Pirelli tradition. All the tyres will be
fitted with the EMI anti-deflation system.

TWO PATTERNS WITH EVOLUTIONS

The PZero range of gravel tyres for Rally Australia includes
approximately 1800 tyres in two tread patterns: K and KM with
evolutions and in all the possible compounds from the most hard
hard to the most soft. All the tyres can be hand cut and all are
equipped with Pirelli’s EMI anti-deflation system.
Here is the description and the characteristics of all the types of
tyre available:

FOR HARD AND CLEANED UP SURFACES
K (Size 205/65-15)
Type Tyre for hard and compact surfaces
Compound options 2, 4 and 6 (all with evolution)
Description Level 2 for dry surface and high temperatures; level 4
for dry surface and lower temperatures or for mixed dry/damp
surface; level 6 for damp/wet surfaces or low temperatures (under
10 degrees). All the K-pattern tyres can be hand-cut.

FOR SOFT OR DAMP SURFACES
KM (Size 205/65-15)
Type For use on soft surfaces and with loose gravel
Compound options 2, 4 and 6 (all with evolution)
Description The same rules apply as for the K-pettern tyres. Level
2 is used on dry surfaces with high temperatures; level 4 with
lower temperatures or for dry/damp surfaces; level 6 for maximum
performance on damp/wet surfaces or temperatures below 10
degrees.

NOTE :The higher the compound number, the softer the
tyre.

THE PIRELLI TEAM IN AUSTRALIA

3 Ford Focus RS Sainz-Moya*, McRae-Grist* and
Delecour-Grataloup
3 Subaru Impreza WRC2001 Burns-Reid*, Solberg-Mills* and
Bourne-Vincent
plus other teams not regularly contesting the World Rally
Championship
* Drivers nominated to collect points for World Championship for
Manufacturers

OUR DRIVERS SAID…
COLIN McRAE

The gravel set up of the Ford Focus is very good so we shouldn’t
have any big problems in Australia. Tyre choice won’t be a problem
if it’s dry and thanks to our performances earlier in the season
we’ll be in a good position to get the best of the roads. I’m
feeling pretty confident for both Australia and Rally GB so it
could be a good end to the season for both myself and Ford-Pirelli,
especially if we can secure the manufacturers’ title on this
round.

CARLOS SAINZ

I’m glad that the starting order will be sorted out before the
rally begins as that means the problems of cleaning stages won’t
force us to play silly tactics like last year. Road position is
important but once that is resolves then this is not an especially
difficult event for tyre choice unless it rains. However, at this
time of year we should be able to enjoy plenty of Australian
sunshine!

RICHARD BURNS

I was second last year and won the event the year before (the last
time the event used this system of choosing your start position) so
I have to be pretty confident of another good result. It will be a
level playing field and so that has to work in our favour. We won’t
get the first choice of start position but we shouldn’t lose too
much on the first day and hopefully we can still be leading in time
to choose first on day two. We know just what the Subaru can do on
Pirelli tyres on the unique Australian surface while the Ford
drivers won’t know exactly so I guess Colin and Carlos would like
to listen when we make our tyre choices

PETTER SOLBERG

I only did seven stages of last year’s Australia Rally but I set
some fastest times and I’m confident that I can get a good result
this time. Obviously I won’t have the best start position but I’ll
just have to push like hell. I’m not so worried about this year’s
result, though, I’m looking at the event as a lesson for next year
when I’ll have Tommi Makinen as my team mate at Subaru-Pirelli.
I’ve beaten him already so I’ll just have to make sure I’m in the
right condition to do it again!

AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 EVENTS

Monte Carlo 19-21 January Asphalt/snow/ice

A great start to the season for Pirelli in Monte Carlo, with the
Ford Focus RS of Colin McRae leading after Leg 2, before having to
retire with a mechanical problem. The PZero range proved to be
efficient, competitive and wear resistant on all surfaces including
the traditional Monte Carlo asphalt/snow/ice mixture.

Sweden 9-11 February Snow/ice/gravel

The most stage wins but no victory – that was the result for
Pirelli in Sweden. If it were not for the time spent off the road
on the first day, either the Ford of Colin McRae or the Subaru of
Richard Burns would most likely have emerged as the winner, along
with the Ford of long-time leader Carlos Sainz. It was a superb
performance by the new Pirelli PZero tyres with their Italian-made
studs.

Portugal 9-11 March Gravel

Sainz drives his Pirelli-equipped Ford very close to victory,
leading with just one stage to go before being narrowly beaten by
Makinen’s Mitsubishi. 4th place (and first points of 2001) for
Subaru’s ace Burns. Positive performance for the PZero gravel range
of tyres, always in the KM6 option, with varying level of hand
cuts

Catalunya 23-25 March Asphalt

Near summer temperatures drastically altered the technical
challenge in Spain while the situation was also affected by
technical problems for both Ford and Subaru on the opening day. As
a result the Pirelli drivers were forced to run further down the
order on the second day where dirty roads prevented an effective
attack. A disappointing event.

Argentina 4-6 May Gravel

Victory was secured for Pirelli with a dominant performance by the
PZero gravel range of tyres that won all but four of the 21 stages.
Colin McRae brought the first win for the Pirelli-Ford partnership
ahead of Subaru driver Richard Burns and of Carlos Sainz
(Ford-Pirelli). This was a major result for the K and KM pattern
tyres on a difficult event.

Cyprus 1-3 June Gravel

Once more the PZero range of gravel tyres dominated the first 4
places on the rally with Colin McRae (Ford-Pirelli) taking his 2nd
win in a row from Richard Burns (Subaru-Pirelli). Carlos Sainz’s
Ford finished 3rd ahead of Toshihiro Arai’s Subaru. This was a
major result for the XR2 tyres used on every stage of the event to
secure this top performance.

Acropolis 15-17 June Gravel

Another gravel victory for Pirelli and the 3rd win in succession
for the Ford Focus WRC of Colin McRae and Nicky Grist. The Pirelli
PZero range’s domination was almost total, winning all but one of
the Stages, with Petter Solberg’s Subaru taking 2nd and the Ford of
Francois Delecour 4th Only late mechanical problems for Richard
Burns and Carlos Sainz denied them podium places.

Safari 20-22 July Gravel

Retirement from the contest by the Subaru of Richard Burns
(suspension), the Fords of Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz
(transmission and engine respectively). On the final day the Subaru
of Petter Solberg (wheel bearing) retired to leave Pirelli with
only the 4th placed Ford of Francois Delecour despite winning 7 of
12 stages. Another dominant Group N performance with Gabriel Pozzo
6th overall.

Finland 24-26 August Gravel

The Peugeot of Marcus Gronholm dominated the contest but, thanks to
a late technical problem that befell his team mate Harri Rovanpera,
Richard Burns (Subaru) and Colin McRae (Ford) claimed podium places
respectively. Ford-Pirelli now shares the lead in the World
Manufacturers’ Championship. Group N was won by Marcos Ligato while
second placed Pozzo extended his series lead.

New Zealand 21-23 September Gravel

A new chapter in Pirelli’s continually successful gravel
performance saw Richard Burns (Subaru) secure a hard-fought win
from Colin McRae with fourth place going to Carlos Sainz (both with
Ford). Thanks to this result Ford leads the Manufacturers
championship, while McRae is tied with Tommi Makinen at the head of
the drivers’ fight.

San Remo 5-7 October Asphalt

The return to asphalt from gravel brought positive results for both
performance and reliability with the PZero range proving especially
competitive on the wet final stages where both Carlos Sainz (4th
overall) and Francois Delecour took stage wins. The result saw
Colin McRae retain his share of the overall championship lead and
Ford extend its advantage in the makes’ series. Gabriel Pozzo was
confirmed as Pirelli’s seventh successive Group N World
Champion

Corsica 19-21 October Asphalt

Hard start for Pirelli: Sainz retired after SS2, the same one which
saw Burns and Colin McRae over a minute late after the Subaru
driver went briefly off the road and the Ford ace hit a rock. Good
performance for the PZero asphalt range of tyres, which allows
Colin and the Pirelli-fitted Ford to face the last two events of
the season from their leadership in the World Championship
standings.

Australia 1-4 November Gravel

Great Britain 23-25 November Gravel