Pirelli take new version of XR tyre to Greece.

Pirelli have developed a new version of their P Zero XR tyre for the Acropolis Rally, the eighth round in the 2006 FIA World Rally Championship, which begins later on this week.

Although the Italian tyre manufacturer has yet to win an event this season and may well quit the sport at the end of this year, this latest compound is good news for the Subaru World Rally team, the only manufacturer backed squad that isn't on rubber supplied by their rivals, BFGoodrich.

Both Pirelli and BF Goodrich meanwhile will have two types of tread pattern available in Greece, in a change to the usual situation, due the severity of the stages.

"In Greece we will offer competitors using P Zero the KP tread pattern as the basic option, with the opportunity to use the XR in the case of repeated special stages," explained Pirelli rally manager, Mario Isola. "This is a design that works well when the timed section surfaces have been 'cleaned' by cars during their first run over such stages.

"This year, the rally is concentrated in an area north of Athens near Attica though, which means the event's route is not very well known and that makes it even more difficult to define the ideal tyre choice. But in recent weeks, we have developed a new version of the P Zero XR and tested it extensively on gruelling roads typical of the 2006 Acropolis Rally."

Pirelli's latest versions of their P Zero KP and XR tyres will not only be used by SWRT duo Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson though, but local hero, Aris Vovos will also benefit from them, in his 2005 spec Impreza run by Team Atolye Kazaz. A number of Group N cars will also run with Pirelli P Zero tyres.