Tyre choice could be crucial in Curitiba

The continued threat of rain on round two of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in Curitiba, Brazil, is already causing the series regulars an anxious night.

With more rain expected before dawn and an 80 per cent chance of precipitation on Friday afternoon, Škoda Motorsport driver Jan Kopecký (pictured) said it was difficult to relax ahead of the rally’s opening seven stages.

Kopecký and his main rivals will choose between a hard or soft compound BFGoodrich tyre depending on the conditions. However, it is the number of ‘cuts’ they choose to insert into them that could boost or hinder performance.

Speaking at a reception hosted by the Mayor of Curitiba on Thursday evening, Kopecký said: “It’s a hard situation to be in because by 0600hrs on Friday we must make our decision of what tyre we use for the first loop of stages and how many cuts we make.”

Kopecký’s team-mate Juho Hänninen, who will start first on the road tomorrow, added: “It’s not easy to know what we should do. We have to get up early in the morning to make the decision.”