Tyre compound choice for Germany

Teams are given a selection of compounds when the event is predominantly asphalt-based. Since the introduction of Pirelli's control tyre to the World Rally Championship, it was only the season-opener in the French Alps where there had been a choice.

The crews have all used the same compound and pattern of gravel tyre on the subsequent eight rallies.

But Pirelli will provide a hard and soft compound of tyre for the 10th round of the WRC, based around stages in the Mosel valley.

Given Germany's reputation for some of the toughest weather conditions on the calendar, the two options are a welcome addition for the drivers.

Having run the soft compound Pirelli 'P Zero' rubber in Monte Carlo, Germany will be the first time any of the drivers have tried the all-new hard compound.

Citroen Sport's technical manager Xavier Mestelan-Pinon admits tyres will be a big focus of attention this week.

He said: "During testing, we worked on optimising the set-up as a function of the new hard tyre. There is a good chance we will use it for the first time this week. The tyre factor promises to play a big role because of the choice between the two Pirelli variants.

"Rallye Deutschland's overall package makes it a particularly challenging event. The stages are [made up of] different types of surfaces, which we find extremely difficult, but the weather tends to be very changeable too."

The FIA priority drivers will be allocated 36 soft-compound tyres and 40 hard-compound tyres, including their allocation for the shakedown stage.

The long-range weather forecast is predicting another typically changeable three days around the stages in Baumholder, the Mosel Vineyards and the Saarland regions.