Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli is currently the official tyre supplier to all categories within the WRC after winning the FIA’s last WRC tyre tender in 2019 to supply tyres from 2021 to 2024. This included the last season of the WRC generation car and the first three campaigns under Rally1 hybrid regulations.
French brand Michelin had previously supplied WRC teams until the end of 2020 prior to Pirelli securing its second stint as the WRC’s official control tyre supplier.
The FIA’s latest tyre tender will cover a three-year period from 2025 to 2027, the last year of the contract coinciding with the WRC’s expected move to new regulations.
Tyre manufacturers have until 15 September to make their submissions, with the FIA expected to announce the successful applicant on 19 October.
The FIA brief states that “tenderers must be able to demonstrate that their proposed tyres are safe and reliable and can offer equal sporting capabilities for all competitors within each relevant technical category in the variety of conditions that would be encountered on a WRC competition”.
Applicants must produce a minimum of two specifications of gravel and tarmac tyres, a snow [studded] tyre and a tarmac winter tyre - one with studs (where permitted) and one without studs. These two variants can be different types/compounds.
“Tenderers should also demonstrate that their products have the highest resistance to punctures and can offer a high level of sporting strategic capability allowing various number of compound strategies,” the brief continues.
“The story of tyres in WRC has to be about the strategy choices and how the tyres are crucial to performance due to the ever-changing conditions and not about tyre puncture or excessive tyre wear causing teams to lose performance.
“There also should be a clear differential between wet and dry tyres and should be easy to see if a driver has taken the wrong tyre and is therefore gambling with performance.
“The performance of WRC is currently at a very high level and the FIA invites the tenderers to propose innovative ways to keep the ‘show’ of the sport but look to improve overall safety.”
WRC promoter's Peter Thul told Autosport in Estonia: “We will see what the competition will bring us and there are a lot of interested tyre companies.”
