I would understand your concern if they had tested with a Rally2 car or with a 2016 WRC, but C3 WRC is not that different to the others. At least when it comes to tyre damage. The car type would likely mostly affect tyre wear, I'd say.
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Afaik Pirelli only tested with C3 WRC in 2020 for the "2017 WRC" spec cars. Those tires were then run in 2021. No C3 WRC tests after 2020 (car sold to Hungary (Butor) with all parts).
There were two additional tests in 2021 with Fiesta WRC (both gravel (between Portugal and Sardinia) and tarmac (before Greece - for Catalunya)), but they also weren't aimed at Rally1 but on improvement for that year.
"Rally1 tests" were only done with Rally1 machines and drivers from the teams and only at end of 2021.
so this must be wrong...
https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/pirel...ng-next-month/
10 jun '20
"Pirelli will begin testing Rally1-specification tires to be used on its 2021 full-time World Rally Championship return next month."
or, we back to the point that rally1 tires were developed and tested on '17 car spec, then "adapted" pre-2022 when rally1 car appeared.
Terminology confusion.
The article itself says that Pirelli will supply "Rally1" tires starting 2021. Rally1 in this case means top category running "WRC2017" spec cars.
Clearly they couldn't start testing "Rally1" spec tires in mid of 2020 when the regs were nowhere near finished.
There was an article from September-October 2021 about how they hope to start testing with Rally1 car soon.
All the testing up to that point that I listed was with 2017 spec cars and for use on 2017 spec cars.
Pirelli to evaluate WRC tyres after Safari...
https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/p...ally/10317942/
Italian interview with Terenzio Testoni ,who is a local Sardinian guy ;)
Interesting comparision with F1:
As in Formula 1, do you recommend tire pressures to the teams?
"In Formula 1 what you propose must be respected, here instead we suggest the pressure on, then in the end a lot depends on the choice of drivers. In rallies everything is more difficult than on the track where you can easily control things: and then the driver may have a problem, he has to get out of the car and solve things. In short, the system is completely different, so imposing the controls here would mean entrusting an extra task to the driver, who already has enough. Just see yesterday (on Saturday, ed), with eight tests without being able to assist: so much of the weight goes to the driver. It's tough, so I also understand that sometimes it's pointless to tell the teams to use a certain amount of pressure when they, in their haste, can't do it. However, when hot, depending on the technology and the bottom, our suggestion is to work between 2.3 and 2.5 bar. On all tires."
https://www.quattroruote.it/news/spo...ticolari_.html
And then when they use different pressure and get a tire off the rim they will still say "I didn't hit anything" at the stopline...
Kinda like Sordo on Friday in Portugal last year. He was supposedly told that soft tires would last some 40 stage kms in those conditions. So he drove 80 and then was totally surprised when some deflated on a road section.