For The Rally Of Portugal, With Sunshine And Dry Weather, The Rain Will Play Its Part (By Not Falling)

Porto, 09 May 2024 | 14:19 Europe/Amsterdam FOR THE RALLY OF PORTUGAL, WITH SUNSHINE AND DRY WEATHER, THE RAIN WILL PLAY ITS PART (BY NOT FALLING) The absence of rain will be one of the features of the Rally of Portugal, after the special stages were given a good “wash” by heavy downpours in the days leading up to the rally weekend. The result of the persistent and pouring rain is that the rocks have emerged on the surface while the soil has been washed away, thus making for a more challenging rally than in previous years. This is effectively the main aspect that emerged from the reconnaissance carried out by the Pirelli engineers, who predict that Friday will be very tough on cars and tyres as is usually the case, followed by a quieter Sunday.Looking at the two Friday loops in detail, which effectively start the previous day with the superspecial stage, they have a 5 rating in terms of stress on the tyres, with the morning loop conditioned by the choice for SS1, while the afternoon will see a huge evolution in terms of road surface. It will be worth keeping an eye on SS3 and SS4, Lousa and Gois, especially on their second pass (SS6 and SS7) which will involve a high wear and load level.In truth, Saturday won’t be a walk in the park either, looking at stages 12 to 16 with Amarante the longest of the rally and quite possibly of the entire season at 37.24 kilometres, and also because temperatures are expected to rise in the afternoon, getting to 25 degrees and higher.As for Sunday’s stages, 19-21 feature ruts in the last eight kilometres that could cause problems for the drivers.It’s worth noting that all crews have gone for the maximum allocation of hard tyres, namely 12, which brings the number of softs available down to 24. 01-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 02-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 03-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 04-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 05-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 06-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 07-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 08-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 09-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 10-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 11-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 12-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 13-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 14-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 15-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 16-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 17-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 18-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 19-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 20-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 21-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 22-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis 23-RALLY DE PORTUGAL 2024 - Special Stages Analysis THE TYRES FOR THE RALLY OF PORTUGALThe soft compound Scorpion KX WRC SB, designed to ensure grip in the slipperiest conditions, striking a balance between performance durability and resistance, are the prime, while the hard compound Scorpion KX WRC HB, best suited to more abrasive surfaces and longer stages, are the option.Both specifications are making their debut in Portugal and are an evolution of the SA and HA thanks to a revised construction which ensures even greater durability and resistance compared to the previous generation, while their performance characteristics remain unchanged.As for the other categories, in Portugal the Rally2 cars will have available the K6B (soft) and the new K4C (hard), the latter also making its debut with evolved characteristics similar to those of the revised tyres for Rally1.Rally3 cars will have available the K6A (soft) and the K4A (hard). The allocation for this category of car is 26 and 8 of the prime and option respectively. The crews can choose up to 12 of the latter, but that reduces their prime allocation by 4.