The French Alps have been alive to the sound of World Rally Cars preparing for next week’s season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo (21 – 24 January) with the series’ big names looking to fine tune their cars ahead of the Gap-based classic. I had one day for the test [in December] when it was slush and melting snow, demanding conditions where it’s difficult to find the limit of the tyre. It’s going to take time to learn because, for sure, the tyres are different.”. He said: “The tyres are different from what we’ve been used to and it’s going to be interesting to see how they work in different conditions. “The super soft tyre is still super soft and the winter tyre with studs is still a winter tyre with studs, but what we don’t know is what window they will work in. “Because these are new for us, it’ll take time to understand the tyres in the evolving conditions.

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