Q&A: Matthew Corby - SWRT Tyre manager.

Matthew Corby, Subaru World Rally Team Tyre Manager talks about what his job involves, the challenge of Rallye Catalyuna and a lot more:

Q:
What does your job involve?

Matthew Corby:
Tyres are a vital part of a rally cars performance, and in broad terms I make sure that the team is getting the best out of them. Whenever possible leading up to an event, I'll drive the stages myself and get an idea of the conditions out there - this helps a lot in the service area. I also work with the weather crews to collect up-to-the-minute data or split times to help analyse the performance of the tyres. Once we have all this information we can tell where we lost or gained time. I work closely with Pirelli to make sure all the choices are available in the service area and speak to the drivers to make sure they have the right information and are happy with the selection. Post event I prepare a detailed report with all drivers' comments and any other information that can be used for future events or the same event in future seasons.

Q:
How did you get into rallying?

MC:
My interest in rallying started when my family business sponsored the driver David Llewellin in 1979. I was 18 and I have worked in rallying, one way or another, ever since. I worked for Toyota Team Europe for ten years - specifically on tyres, and on the co-ordination side for Toyota Team Sweden.

Q:
What is the challenge with tyres in Spain?

MC:
There are two different types of surfaces here - for leg one in the south, the surfaces are more abrasive than those in the north on legs two and three. Sometimes we have a batch of stages together between services in which some of the road surfaces are quite hard on the tyres and some surfaces have very low grip levels. There's a balance to be struck and we have to help the drivers select a tyre that will give the best performance as well as durability over the whole distance.

Q:
What difference can the weather make here and what conditions do you favour?

MC:
Rallye Catalunya is contested over a very wide area compared to many in the WRC and the weather can vary a lot depending on the location of the stage. This isn't a problem and can work very much to your advantage if you are willing to gamble on tyre choice. A lot of time can be lost with an incorrect choice though, and if you get it wrong it could easily make the difference between winning and losing. We like to think that damp conditions suit us a little better - but the latest developments from Pirelli are proving very strong in the dry too.

Q:
Did you learn anything in Corsica that will help in Spain?

MC:
The weather in Corsica was mainly damp and if the conditions were the same here we would be able to use the information, but the surfaces now are hotter and drier - quite different to those in Corsica. The set up of the car in general has changed a huge amount over the last couple of months and we are still building up our tyre information on this new set up. I expect to take a good deal of data away from Spain to help us on the remaining smooth-surface events of the season.