The 60th Rally Sweden was won by Finland’s Jari-Matti LATVALA and Miikka ANTTILA in their FORD Fiesta RS WRC. The Finnish pair completed the first two days in front and succeeded in building up a cushion of 35.6s over Mikko HIRVONEN and Jarmo LEHTINEN (CITROEN DS3 WRC) before a rock damaged one of their car’s tyres three stages from home. The incident reduced their advantage over HIRVONEN and LEHTINEN to just 8.4s, but they ended up winning their duel to finish on top of the podium in Karlstad.
In addition to the heat of the action on the stages, the 2012 Rally Sweden took place in exceptionally ‘mild’ weather for the time of year. The average temperature for the weekend was minus 6°C and competitors had to cope with a thin top-coating of snow on the icy lanes, while sharp stones gradually became unearthed with each passing car.
The MICHELIN X-Ice North tyres, which were designed and developed especially for these extreme winter conditions, were put to a punishing test. Each one was fitted with studs which protruded 7mm from the tread blocks, while their asymmetric tread pattern was carefully designed to deliver competitive traction and to clear loose snow. The WRC regulations only allow competitors to run one type of tyre in Sweden, but the conditions this time round were very different to those encountered in 2011 (deep snow, -25°C).
Jacques MORELLI (manager of MICHELIN’s rally programmes): “To prepare the 2012 version of the MICHELIN X-Ice North, we worked on the studs, including the materials we employ and the way they are anchored in the tread blocks. Our aim was to ensure greater resistance to damage, despite the fact that this year they protruded by 7.0mm instead of 6.7mm previously. We kept the same pattern as the 2011 tyre which proved very effective in clearing snow and delivered first class traction in deep snow. This year’s conditions featured a thin top-coating of snow on an icy base, with some stones. That gives us with a fresh challenge for 2013 when we will try to make the X-Ice North even more versatile still!”
Ensuring that the studs stood up to the punishment was the main objective for MICHELIN this year, and the firm’s technicians were pleased with the new studding process they used. “We analysed each tyre at the end of every loop as a function of the type of stage, the set-up of each car and the drivers’ individual driving styles. The result was very satisfactory and we were able to explain all the cases where some studs were lost,” notes Jacques MORELLI.
