Tyre supplier ready as Monte returns to past.

After an inaugural campaign which harvested the WRC drivers' crown with Sebastien Loeb, the manufacturers' title with Ford and 16 wins from 16 events in 2006, BFGoodrich kicks off its second season hoping for a repeat on the 2007 Monte Carlo Rally.

This year, the world championship's longest-standing fixture has delved into its past to produce a route that revisits France's Vercors and Ardeche regions. None of the current top drivers has previously sampled the classic Antraigues, Burzet, Saint Bonnet le Froid and Saint Jean en Royans stages, as it has been ten years since the Monte last took in the regions' mountains. That year, 1997, saw the arrival of the first World Rally Cars, while Italy's Piero Liatti took his Subaru Impreza WRC to victory in particularly taxing conditions.

"We came across everything the Monte could throw at us, including ice and snow on St Bonnet le Froid," recalled Liatti's co-driver of the day, Fabrizia Pons, "We were forever wondering how the conditions would evolve? Despite the win, it was one of the worst moments of my career: When the marshal at the final time control congratulated me, I replied that it would be the last time he would see me on the Monte Carlo!"

Ten years later, and with Pons no longer a fixture in the WRC paddock, the event marks a return to the Vercors region, and the once mandatory visit to St Jean en Royans, as well as to the Ardeche, home to classics like Antraigues, St Bonnet le Froid and Burzet. So much has changed in the interim, with the leading cars now the Ford Focus WRC and, more than likely, Citroen C4 WRC, while Loeb, Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg have replaced former heroes Tommi Makinen, Didier Auriol, Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz.

"So much is new on this year's Monte Carlo Rally," agreed BF Goodrich rallies manager Matthieu Bonardel, "To begin with, of course, there's the return to the Ardeche stages, the surface of which can be pretty punishing for the tyres in places. On top of that, Antraigues could well turn out to be one of the longest stages of the year and it promises to be extremely demanding in terms of durability.

"There are new cars too, and BFGoodrich will not be working with just one, but two of them: the Subaru and the new C4 WRC. Meanwhile, some of our tyres have also evolved since the 2006 event and, finally, Sunday's superspecial on the harbour side in Monaco will be run on snow tyres!"

Worryingly, perhaps, for the opposition is the revelation that the only frontrunner to have prior knowledge of the Ardeche stages is Daniel Elena, Loeb's co-driver, who contested the 1997 event as a driver in a Peugeot 106. He was dominating Class N1 when he retired....

"Like all the drivers, I don't know any of the stages," confirmed Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, "We will need to take extremely precise pacenotes, especially for the first two stages. Tyre choices will again be crucial. When the thermometer dips to around the 0?C mark, it is difficult to know where ice has formed."

Back in 1997, the factory drivers worked through some 250 tyres during the event, while individual quotas for 2007 are restricted to just 80 asphalt and 40 snow tyres. Ten years ago, factory drivers could choose between three different snow tyres, five dry asphalt tyres, two intermediates and one type of rain tyre. This time round, priority drivers will have the choice of one type of dry asphalt tyre, a single intermediate and one snow tyre. Despite this radically slimmer range, however, performance continues to be the overriding objective. Today's WRC tyres may be more versatile than their predecessors, but they are as competitive and durable as ever, if not more so.

"Tyre choices will play a decisive role this season because everyone will be with BFGoodrich," Subaru's Chris Atkinson admitted, "These tyres are new to us, but we have already learnt a great deal about them during the testing we have done so far and we worked very closely with the technicians. We worked through the full range to get a thorough understanding of how they work. I feel very confident for the season ahead."