BFGoodrich explain why McRae had tyre problems.

BFGoodrich have said that Colin McRae's long absence from the sport was to blame for his inability to select the correct tyres in Turkey.

McRae, who was brought in to sub for the injured Sebastien Loeb at the weekend, failed to really shine and the Scot was unhappy with his tyre choice, especially on the first and second legs.

BF Goodrich tyres at the Acropolis Rally
BF Goodrich tyres at the Acropolis Rally
© PHOTO 4

BFGoodrich have said that Colin McRae's long absence from the sport was to blame for his inability to select the correct tyres in Turkey.

McRae, who was brought in to sub for the injured Sebastien Loeb at the weekend, failed to really shine and the Scot was unhappy with his tyre choice, especially on the first and second legs.

"Tyre packages for Turkey had to be registered with the FIA by October 2 which was before the confirmation of Colin's entry, so Colin had to run with Loeb's choice," explained Michel Ducher, the BFGoodrich technician delegated to work with Kronos Citroen. "I believe Colin suffered from his lack of knowledge of these products which have evolved significantly since 2003 [when he last competed full time]. The weekend's conditions meant it was vital to know them inside out in order to make the most of them [and that was why he wasn't overly happy with his choices]."

BFGoodrich rally manager, Aime Chatard agreed with that assessment, although he added that the conditions, which threw everything at the drivers', from rain and fog to snow and hail, were nothing like they had catered for.

"This weekend was a big challenge for Colin McRae. Early in the event, he tended to put his times down to poor tyre choices but it soon became apparent that he was suffering from a lack of match practice and testing," he noted.

"His run underlined two things: a) that [Sebastien] Loeb and [Marcus] Gronholm have been on a planet of their own this season and b) the importance of the osmosis between the driver and his tyre technician and their work done in testing together, especially when conditions are as difficult as they were this weekend.

"We didn't think we would find conditions like this in Turkey. Not with this much rain and mud. BFGoodrich's technicians and 'cutters' did a first class job though when it came to helping make some difficult tyre and 'cut' choices. The drivers essentially had a range of three main types of 'cut' they could choose from: the 'half cut', the 'full cut' and the 'extra full cut' which included an additional circumferential groove, a technique we are called upon to use just once every two years!

"There were also quite a lot of punctures and that was practically inevitable since the mud tended to conceal many of the rocks. Thanks to the mousse inserts, these punctures didn't have any effect on the results amongst the WRC runners, but they did have consequences in the ranks of the Junior WRC which outlaws the use of run-flat mousse."

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