Whether in Formula One, motorbike races or rallying, barely a motorsport goes by without tyres taking centre stage. The choice of tyres is often crucial in the fight for valuable seconds, and can often play a major role in deciding the final result.

Often described as a "tyre lottery", the differing conditions mean choosing the ideal tyre is not always an obvious decision. At the 2011 Rally Germany, for example, most teams initially opted for a hard compound for use in dry weather, as rain was not forecast until the afternoon.

Some teams took a chance, however, and headed out onto the route with soft tyres for wet conditions, as they had seen different forecasts, which predicted the rain would arrive in the morning. The heavens promptly opened ahead of schedule, giving the drivers on soft tyres an advantage of almost half a minute over their rivals. Tyre lottery won, perfect start to the rally, long faces among the opposition.

Hard, soft or with spikes?

In principle, three types of tyre are available: for asphalt and gravel in harder and softer versions each, and with approximately 240 spikes per tyre for use on ice and snow. The rule of thumb, that hard compounds are used on dry surfaces because they offer optimal grip here, applies. In case of rain and damp surfaces, on the other hand, the soft tyres are employed. The disadvantage here, however, is that they wear faster if used for too long on dry ground or on short gravel sections. In the worst case, this can result in a puncture and the tyres having to be changed, which means a significant loss of time.

To avoid this, almost all rally teams have special crews, who collect detailed weather information and analyse the condition of the surface on the individual special stages. This information ultimately forms the basis for any decisions regarding the choice of tyres. Hard, soft, with spikes, or a mixture of the different tyres? Almost anything is possible. The stage times at the end of almost every stage offer immediate feedback on just how accurate the specialists were.

Since the start of the 2012 season WRC rules have been made even stricter with a 20 per cent reduction in the number of tyres each crew may use in the course of an event. This is to save natural resources and to reduce emission associated with the production of the tyres. Michelin, the tyre partner of the WRC Team MINI Portugal, has therefore responded to this change by developing tyres that are even more durable. According to WRC regulations, for the Priority 1 drivers there are five tyres per scheduled tyre-change opportunity, plus five additional tyres for the Shakedown or the new Qualifying Stage. Crews are allowed to carry up to two spares.

Another durability test.

The teams face the third dramatic change of surface, and therefore tyres, at the next round of the WRC in Mexico. While the curtain-raiser to the 2012 season in Monte Carlo was predominantly held on asphalt, snow and ice were the order of the day more recently in Sweden. The event in Mexico is the first gravel rally of the season – another real test of durability for the tyres, as the sometimes extremely stony surface poses a constant threat of punctures.

WRC fans will discover who made the best choice of tyre and had the best information on the condition of the special stages when the Rally Mexico gets underway from 8th to 11th March.

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