Pirelli returning to World Rally Championship in 2018

MILAN, Italy — Pirelli & C. S.p.A. plans to return in 2018 as a supplier of race tires for the World Rally Championship after a year's hiatus, a move that includes taking on the role of exclusive supplier of the Junior World Rally Championship.

Pirelli disclosed at the end of the 2016 season it was withdrawing from the WRC to concentrate its motorsport resources on 300 other racing series it supports.

The 2018 WRC season opens Jan. 22-28 with the Rallye Monte Carlo and finishes Nov. 15-18 with the Rally Australia. The season will comprise 13 race weekends in 13 countries on four continents.

Pirelli also will continue to supply the European Rally Championship, including as the exclusive supplier of the European Junior Under 27 Championship.

Mario Isola, Pirelli's head of car racing, said: "With our long and illustrious history in the World Rally Championship, paired with some of the most successful teams and drivers in the sport, it was a natural decision for us to return next year."

In preparation for the move, Pirelli has homologated new products for the latest generation WRC cars — P Zero tires for asphalt, Scorpion for gravel and Sottozero of ice and snow — as well as the feeder WRC2 category.

Pirelli did not quantify the financial impact of its decision. The company does, however, have two manufacturing sites for racing tires now, having added capacity for them at its Slatina, Romania, plant to complement their production at the firm's Izmit, Turkey, factory.

Michelin Motorsport has been the primary supplier of teams competing in the WRC since 2011.

The Junior WRC series is open to drivers aged 29 or under competing in identical turbocharged Ford Fiesta R2T cars prepared by M-Sport. Pirelli takes over the tire supplier role from DMack Tyres. The 2018 season will comprise races in Corsica, Finland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey.

This is Pirelli's second return to the WRC after a hiatus in the past decade. The Italian company suspended its participation in WRC competition after the 2010 season and then returned in 2014.

Pirelli was the WRC's control tire supplier from 2008-10.