BF Goodrich: Germany a high-tension event.

BF Goodrich rallies programme manager, Aime Chatard has said that they will need to be extremely vigilant and reactive on the Rallye Deutschland this coming weekend, if they are to ensure their partner teams are not caught out by the unpredictable weather.

Speaking ahead of the event in Germany, where BF Goodrich will be out to stretch their winning run to a perfect nine from nine, Chatard added that it will be a high tension event from start to finish.

"The Rallye Deutschland is a very specific event that calls for extremely careful preparation," he said. "Our partner teams tested on-site near Trier and on the Baumholder ranges at the end of June and early July where they worked on finding the ideal set-up.

"Tyre-wise, BFGoodrich has worked in two areas, namely making the tyres resistant to the aggression of the asphalt/concrete/rocks mix of the military stages plus the availability of a tyre for the vineyard stages capable of working in the sort of high temperatures we saw in July. Our crews will have a '2+' (medium-hard) in addition to the traditional '2' compound (medium).

"This is a high tension event from start to finish. Not only do our tyres need to be competitive but also our range also has to cover all conceivable conditions. It will also be vital to have the right tyres available at the right moment. We will have to be extremely vigilant and reactive if the weather proves changeable."

As for Pirelli's recent decision to quit the sport, Chatard reiterated that they are 'sad' to see Pirelli go: "Pirelli is a tyre-manufacturer with a long history in rallying," he continued. "This decision does not however call BFGoodrich's commitment to the WRC into question in anyway and our firm will continue to be present in 2007. We will do all we can to supply the same quality of tyres to all the officially registered teams and we will shortly be taking a close look at the staffing, production imperatives and logistics that this implies."