WRC Mexico: why tyres matter
Mexico is the first deployment of the year for Pirelli's Scorpion gravel tyres, available in hard and soft compounds. And it's the hard that is likely to be the most popular choice, such are the demands on the tyres.
The grip offered up by the stages can be very low, especially for those running early on the road who have to sweep a path through the loose gravel for their rivals to follow. And traction is key as the technical roads are characterised by many uphill hairpins, where maintaining good momentum is crucial to counter the power-sapping effects of altitude.
With each passing car, large rocks are dragged onto the driving line, while the heat combines with the abrasive surface to wear tyres – especially during the second pass of stages in the afternoons.
Rally Mexico is also a notably compact rally, packing a lot of stage kilometres in the mountains above Leon into a relatively short overall distance. One of the most famous tests is El Chocolate at 31.45 kilometres, to be run twice on Friday. But the longest stage of all is reserved for Sunday morning: the 35.39 km of Otates.
