Although there have been rumours doing the rounds this week that a control tyre will be introduced in to the Australian Rally Championship in 2008, Rallycorp Chairman, Steve Ashton, says there has definitely been no decision made yet.
It has been reported this week that Pirelli have won the contract to supply tyres for next year’s championship with an offer that was, it is believed, $200 a tyre better that what Michelin tendered. However, Ashton denies such claims.
“The Pirelli offer was attractive, however there are a number of sporting and commercial issues that would need to be overcome before this could be adopted. It is also very late to be contemplating such a decision for 2008, although it is theoretically possible,” Ashton said.
Toyota’s Neal Bates told RallySport Magazine that they (Toyota) were “dead against” a control tyre being introduced into the championship.
“There are a lot of competitors in the championship who receive tyre support of some kind – whether that be product, support or discounted rates,” Bates said.
“In a championship such as ours, I don’t think there’s enough corporate sponsorship available to sustain the sport and the privateers, if you bring in a control tyre and take away the deals they may already have in place with tyre suppliers.”
Toyota have used Michelin rubber for many seasons, and the Pirtek Ford team also used the French tyre supplier’s tyres this year.
It is not yet known when a final decision on the control tyre subject will be made by Rallycorp, the commercial rights holder for the Australian Rally Championship.
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