High tyre wear blamed for WRC Paraguay punctures and delaminations
Four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen says he can’t remember a day as eventful as a series of tyre issues and crashes headlined Friday’s action at Rally Paraguay WRC crews had predicted that Paraguay would be a rally of survival, and could be as extreme as Safari Rally Kenya with heavy rain set to arrive on Saturday and Sunday, rendering the clay/gravel stages incredibly slippery. Friday ...…
High tyre wear was blamed for multiple punctures and delaminations during Friday's action at Rally Paraguay in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen, Toyota deputy team principal, stated that he couldn't remember a day as eventful as Friday's with so many punctures and cars off, each stage presenting something happening.
Championship leader Elfyn Evans confirmed he wasn't surprised by the number of tyre failures, suffering two delaminations across the day. His decision not to stop and change the wheel proved to be the right decision after numerous discussions with his co-driver Scott Martin. Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux also experienced three tyre failures, including two rear punctures, expressing his frustration with weak tyres causing the issues.
M-Sport-Ford boss Richard Millener attributed the rise in tyre failures to a combination of factors, including punctures, delaminations, the relentless stage itinerary, and the harsh conditions. Hankook, the tyre manufacturer, introduced an upgraded hard-compound gravel tyre for the Acropolis Rally to reduce delaminations on rough gravel.
However, when the softer tyre was used at Safari Rally Kenya earlier this year, the drivers agreed there had been some improvement. Hankook's Steven Cho explained that the morning's loops exhibited much more wear than expected, with the hard tyre encountering abrasive and rough conditions due to compacted clay, bedrock, and extremely long stage kilometres.
He concluded that the team will need to investigate the hard tyres further to address the ongoing issues.
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