Subaru drivers Toshi Arai and Jarkko Nikara will be aiming to capitalise on knowledge garnered by Yokohama engineers when they chase IRC Production Cup glory on Rally San Marino.
Neither driver has tackled the gravel event before but Yokohama’s engineering team, who will be hoping to transfer its expertise and the firm’s tyre technology to their Tommi Mäkinen Racing Impreza R4 STIs, visited the rally last season when it counted for the Italian Gravel Trophy.
“We visited the event last year and saw the roads are hard-packed base with a little loose gravel on top, so while they will clean, it will not be a huge amount,” said Yokohama’s Ian Beveridge. “Once clean, they are likely to be in good condition and provide good grip.”
Yokohama will make its ADVAN A053 gravel tyres available in soft and medium compound, as Beveridge explained: “These should suit the conditions well. We will have a new compound for the weekend as we are continually developing the rally products and I think the road surface, and the fact that the stages are fairly fast and flowing, should mean that hopefully, it won’t be as demanding an event on tyres as others in the series."
Warm and dry weather is expected for the duration of the event, a new addition to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge schedule for 2012.